Angels
by ProAJ13
Summary: Earth High School AU. More story details inside! Basically, a boy transfers to a new school and has to try and make new friends. He seems like a happy guy that is never sad, but some people hide their emotions, try to not show any pain. When all the emotion that he has held in comes out, Blake will have to help him through it. Also has Arkos. Inspired by the song Angels by The XX.
1. Chapter 1

**So, now I can show you the full description.**

 **Earth High School AU. Going to a new school can be difficult, mostly the part about making new friends. It's even harder for someone who doesn't really like most people and doesn't really socialize well with people who aren't his friends. So love wasn't something he ever even considered happening to him, so he didn't bother. Even when he thinks he likes a girl, he just doesn't bother, cause it's not like it would ever work out, right? Someday soon though, love will come to him. My interpretation of Angels by The XX turned into a story with RWBY characters and an OC my readers know well, ME! ("When are you gonna stop doing the Black Angel ship in your stories?" NEVER! XD SRSLY though, Blake is my waifu :3 Deal with it!)**

 **I had no intention of writing this, it was just gonna stay in my head. But every time I listen to** _ **Angels by The XX**_ **I think of this story, so I'm writing it now. Listen to the song before reading this, K?**

 **So, I'm writing romantic stuff, again… But this time it's just romance, no crazy powers, just a simple romance in average life. That's all this song is really about, right? (Basically this is a really boring fic with not much to it… nevermind! It was supposed to be simple but I wouldn't define Port and Oobleck as "simple" in this fic!)**

 **Right? I should mention that this is my idea of what the lyrics mean, but you don't have to agree with me. I saw a lot of different opinions of what this song meant, and I decided I agree with this opinion. If you disagree, that's fine. I won't try to prove you wrong and you shouldn't try to prove me wrong, it's just my opinion.**

 **I'm rambling, go ahead and read, if you wish.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, or anything else named, used, referenced, etc. in this fic. I only own this story, my other fanfictions, and my OC(s).**

 **THE RATING IS FOR BAD LANGUAGE. DESPITE WHAT THIS STORY IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT, THERE IS SOME OF THAT.**

 _Light reflects from your shadow_

 _It is more than I thought could exist_

 _You move through the room_

 _Like breathing was easy_

 **Also, before we start. If I don't describe a character's clothing, picture them in the Beacon Academy uniform. The school this takes place in has a uniform but it isn't required. ALSO just picture the teachers as they look in RWBY normally. AND for casual clothes, just picture what they normally wear in the show, but without the bullets and weapons and stuff like that. (Alright I'll stop talking now, I know my ANs are really lengthy)**

(Man, it is really hard to write a story when you feel like every damn thing you put in the story is going to make people judge you, ridicule you, insult you…)

"Speech"

'thought'

* * *

Everyone settled into their seats in the class, following the seating chart they had memorized by now. There was one however that didn't sit down, and instead went straight to the teacher.

"Yes?" The teacher asked the tall brown haired boy.

"Hi, I'm new here. Are you Mr. Ozpin?" The boy asked. The fact that this boy was here was getting the attention of a few of the students who had sat down by now, but the boy tried to ignore them.

"Yes, hello there!" Mr. Ozpin greeted and shook the boy's hand. The boy gave a strong handshake which was a good first impression for the man. "Welcome to the class, but before I give you a seat, you should introduce yourself to the class."

The boy grumbled and sighed before looking at the classroom and trying to calm his slightly racing heart. By now he had most of the class' attention as he was something new for the other students.

"Alright class! We have a new student here, who will now introduce himself!" Mr. Ozpin said as he sat down behind his desk at the front of the class with the whiteboard behind him, while the boy stood in front of the class and was looking around but avoiding everyone's eyes.

At this announcement everyone took note of the 6'2 boy with short brown hair, freckles, a green T-shirt that went well with his light brown eyes, and he wore normal light blue jeans and standard silver and black sneakers. The boy sighed loudly, making his annoyance with being put on the spot known to everyone, getting quite a few smiles and a chuckle or two in response.

"Hi, I'm AJ." The boy, AJ, started simply. "Well, I go by AJ." He corrected. "My real name is Anthony but I would really appreciate if you would call me AJ."

"Alright AJ, tell us something about yourself." Mr. Ozpin requested.

AJ turned to give him an annoyed look. "Really?" He asked disbelievingly before turning back to the class. "Why? Did everyone else have to do this?" He mumbled.

"Actually… we um… kind of did." A blond boy seated up near the front reluctantly answered.

"Oh, really?" AJ was surprised. "Well that makes me feel a bit better… I like video games! Not much else worth mentioning…" He mumbled the last part and was really hoping he wasn't stuttering at any point.

"Oh, surely you can tell us something more than that." Mr. Ozpin stated with a not-so-hidden grin.

AJ rolled his eyes and sighed/grumbled loudly again, getting a few chuckles and giggles from a few students who enjoyed the way he was taking his embarrassment. "Alright, but if you want me to do that… I'm going to need a volunteer to come up with me!" He said in a game show host's voice without really raising his voice. "You there!" He pointed at the blonde boy from earlier. "You are our lucky volunteer! Come on up! Join me in my suffering." He deadpanned the last part, the whole act getting a few full laughs from the students, the blonde's reaction adding to the hilarity.

"What!?" The boy asked in shock.

"Come on Mr. Arc! Go on up!" Mr. Ozpin requested.

"Yeah, Jaune! Go up!" A pretty red headed girl next to him encouraged. The blond grumbled before standing up and reluctantly joining the new kid.

"Alright, Jaune, is it? Do you like video games?" AJ asked the blonde.

"Yeah." Jaune answered with a nod.

"Which ones?" AJ asked.

"Well… Halo mostly, but I do also like Battlefield and Call of Duty, and Fallout." Jaune seemed to be trying to think of more, already seeming to forget the students watching them.

"Cool! Me too!" AJ said with a smile. "We should play together sometime!" He turned to the class. "Well, I also really like listening to music. What kind? The good kind." He soon lost the smile as he turned to the teacher. "Alright, that's all you're getting out of me." He deadpanned.

Mr. Ozpin laughed before speaking. "Alright, you can choose any open seat." AJ found few seats open but luckily found one in the far back and slightly left side of the room, if you are facing the room from the teacher's desk. The part about being on the left side didn't matter, just being in the back.

AJ took off his backpack and set it down next to his seat as he sat down. 'Jaune didn't seem happy about me doing that. Hopefully he won't hold it against me. I don't want to make any enemies when I just got here.' He thought. Finding his heart rate was slowing to something he doesn't constantly feel in his chest, he rested his head in his hands as he stared towards the front of the class, which was finally starting.

Taking a moment to look around, the grammar posters on the walls make it clear this is an English class, AJ's least favorite, but the teacher seemed nice so far… Besides putting him on the spot in front of the class.

"A month into the year and we get someone new. Hi! I'm Yang!" A blonde girl to his left said to him, sticking out her hand.

He shook her hand. "Hi Yang, please call me AJ." AJ requested.

"I don't know big guy, but we'll see about that." The girl said before looking forward again. AJ noted how long her hair was and how it didn't look combed at all, and that the girl was being oddly nice to him.

"I am simply not going to respond if you call me Anthony." AJ said quietly, not wanting the attention of the teacher.

"What's wrong with Anthony?" A smaller girl with black hair that was red at the tips asked him. He noticed she had silver colored eyes, which he had never seen before.

"Nothing wrong with it, I just was called AJ from the moment I was born, so it's practically my name." AJ explained.

"That's my sister Ruby, by the way." Yang said, pointing at the girl to AJ's right.

AJ looked at both of them. "Huh, no resemblance though." He pointed out.

"Half-sisters, different mother." Yang explained.

"Yeah? Well I am apparently _exactly_ like one of my two older half-brothers, different father." AJ pointed out, basically questioning the validity of her statement, or at least the logic of it.

"That's weird." Yang commented before they were told to pay attention so they stopped talking and faced forward.

* * *

Eventually the class ended and AJ took a moment to check his schedule for his next class.

"Next is… Science with… Oobleck… Alright!" AJ said to himself and started walking across the open campus towards the building marked with 400, indicating the building that held the classes that were 400 and up. The classes didn't actually go to 499 though, it stopped at 430 or so.

"Oobleck? That's our next class!" Yang pointed out, overhearing him talking to himself… and also was looking over his shoulder. "Come on big guy!" She said before she grabbed him by the arm and started pulling him along.

"It's AJ, damn it!" AJ complained as he forced his way out of her grip before walking alongside her and giving her an annoyed look.

"You might want to get used to that." Ruby said as she quickly caught up with them. AJ sighed in acceptance.

"Hey, at least you already have some friends! And it's only the first day!" Yang pointed out. "Heck, it's not even the second class yet!"

"True." AJ quietly agreed.

"What? No 'Gee, thanks for being my friend, Yang.'?" Yang looked hurt but was probably just joking.

"I might have said that but I had forgotten your name." AJ said honestly.

"Already?" Ruby asked, surprised.

"I'm terrible with names." AJ explained. "So, what's Oobleck like?" He asked them as he had realized they were half way to the class now.

""He is AWESOME!"" The sisters yelled simultaneously.

"He is by far the best teacher _ever_!" Yang yelled.

"He barely ever gives us homework and zooms all over the place and likes making explosions and he is JUST. SO. AWESOME!" Ruby yelled and AJ noticed how ridiculously fast she spoke.

"So… he sounds pretty cool?" AJ basically summed it up.

"You'll like him. Well, I guess I shouldn't say that, seeing as we don't know you too well yet…" Ruby said shyly. "But I don't see why you _wouldn't_ like him! He is JUST. SO."

"ALRIGHT I GET IT!" AJ shouted with a smile and a laugh soon following so she knew he wasn't angry. "I get it."

"You might want to get used to that." Yang quoted her sister and AJ once again sighed in acceptance.

'Of all the friends to make on the first day…' AJ thought.

"Welcomeclasswehaveanewstudenttoday!" Oobleck started as he stood before the class.

"Hey-o!" AJ said casually to the class as he gave a two finger salute. 'If I have to do this in every freaking class I… will probably get used to it and my heart won't be racing by the last class, actually.' AJ realized.

"Wehavenotimeforintroductionstodaysopleasefindaseat!" Oobleck said and AJ nodded in understanding and looked around for a seat.

He quickly found, and heard, both the sisters waving him over to their table so he walked over to them. It was a familiar table for him, with a sink being part of the table and small storage cabinets by your feet. He never was in a science class that didn't have these tables throughout the room.

AJ also noticed someone groan before standing up near his seat, glaring annoyingly at Yang, and walking over to another table. AJ was smart enough to figure this puzzle out himself. "Did you seriously just push some guy out of his seat so I could sit next to you?" He asked the blonde.

"Noooo!" She waved him off sarcastically. "Of course not!" Still sarcasm. AJ brought his hand up to his forehead and sighed. "How can you understand the teacher already though? It took us all awhile to finally understand him.

"Today, class, wewillbe, youguessedit, creatinganexplosion!" Oobleck said with an excited tone that you could just barely recognize in his rapid speech pattern. The majority of the class cheered at this news.

"It's not _that_ hard." AJ commented.

"What do mean, 'not that hard.'!? That is really hard to figure out even now!" Ruby complained.

AJ saw the smirk Yang had the moment he had spoken. "Don't." He stopped her as her mouth finally opened to speak. "You should know now that I _very_ rarely find anything like that funny, so don't bother." He said sternly.

Yang simply chuckled. "Well it's funny to me!" She said with a smile before looking back at Oobleck.

"Soeveryonegogetyourearandeyeprotectionandfollowmeoutside!" Oobleck said before dashing out at the speed of Sanic, which was something AJ, along with everyone else, questioned _but_ they could only assume it was the coffee.

AJ followed everyone else's lead and put on protective glasses and put in earplugs before rushing out with the rest of the class. He wasn't sure where they were going but the fact that the sisters were barely containing their excitement told him that whatever this is was going to be interesting.

They went around to a private back area of the school and a bunker of a building. They went inside and found a viewing window with hopefully blast proof glass. Looking through it you could see an empty room if you exclude the small explosive barrel in the back of the room.

"Sooooooo he was serious about the explosion?" AJ asked aloud.

"Wellofcourse! Youthoughtiwasn'tserious!?" Oobleck asked, suddenly appearing in front of the boy. AJ took a step back and his eyes widened slightly but he otherwise seemed unfazed, much to Oobleck's disappointment… he liked jumpscaring the new ones.

"The school had this blast proof room made just for him." Yang explained to AJ.

"The school can afford that?" AJ asked disbelievingly. 'Why did my mom send me to this school!? Why didn't we just have me homeschooled or something!? I mean I get that she has a friend here, but seriously!?'

"Yep!" Ruby answered his question before turning back to Oobleck, prompting AJ to do the same.

"Alright class!" Oobleck appeared behind the class, holding the detonator. 'Did he just talk at a normal speed?' "I have only one question for you: _Explosions_!?" Oobleck asked before detonating the explosive, excited cheering soon following as the room shook. Meanwhile AJ was laughing.

"Oh my god he's insane! HAHAHAHA! I LOVE IT!" AJ said while laughing.

"The answer… is yes." Oobleck said dramatically. "Movingon!" He suddenly shouted at normal (For him) speed and sanicing (Yes that is a verb) back to class.

They eventually got back to class and sat back down in their seats.

"Oh, if it makes you feel better." Yang started, getting AJ's attention. "There is no seating chart, so it's not like you stole the guy's seat."

"Except you kind of did!" The student's voice complained from a table on the other side of the class.

"Blame me, not him, Sun!" Yang shouted back with a smile that AJ was already starting to recognize as her usual expression.

"Wait wait wait." AJ started. "He said there was no time for introductions, just because of the explosion?" AJ asked. The sisters simply nodded. "Why did we have the explosion anyway?"

"PYROTECHNICS!" Oobleck "answered" when he suddenly appeared next to AJ, who comically jumped, causing his chair to tilt and fall, taking him with it to the floor. Ruby and Yang were frankly surprised to see him _not_ blushing when he stood up with an annoyed look on his face as he set his chair back up and sat down again. He was just trying to ignore everyone's laughter as well as he could by setting his arms on the table and then setting his head down to hide his face.

"Why did we even have eye protection for that?" AJ asked without raising his head, making his voice sound muffled.

"Oh that wasn't for then, that's for the rest of the class." Yang answered with excitement in her voice.

The rest of the class consisted of fire, a few more small explosions, and Oobleck rapidly spouting nonsense, info, and random trivia about, pyrotechnics. All in all…

"That was an… eventful class…" AJ deadpanned, before he started laughing. "Please tell me that is how it is every day!?" He begged the sisters.

"Oh don't worry, it is." Yang answered with a grin.

"Yes!" AJ yell-whispered.

* * *

His next class was in the 600 building, and instead of both sisters, only Ruby shared the class with him.

The class was none other than History with Mr. Portly Man- I MEAN, Mr. Port and his amazing mustache!... His name is Mr. Port.

"Hey-o." AJ greeted with a small smile on his face after his last class. Well… that's what would have happened, here's what really happened:

"Hey-o?" AJ said like it was a question as he looked at the class for a moment before looking back at the unusual extension of the room, the seriously confused look never leaving his face.

In the extra room, which was clearly designed as an animal pen, was a pig. Yep! Just a random dark brown pig in the corner…

"Oink!" That was the pig… obviously.

"Edgar says hello to you as well." Port said with a hearty chuckle.

If AJ was an anime character and he made that face at Port, there would have been a sweatdrop.

'WTF is wrong with this school…' AJ thought to himself. 'I swear to god if the P.E. teacher has a freaking whip or something…'

Needless to say that class was almost as eventful as the last, giving an entertaining twist to AJ's favorite subject. Despite AJ usually always asking questions, he decided to make an exception for the pig… even he decided the advice "Don't ask" was advice he should listen to in this scenario.

"Alright class. That's the bell! Feel free to pet Edgar before you leave, if you wish! He loves the attention!" Mr. Port said as the bell rang.

"Ok, so it's break now?" AJ asked Ruby as he and the rest of the class sat up from their seats.

"Yep!" Ruby answered cheerfully. "So, are you gonna come with me and meet Yang outside her class?" She asked him. "We have a table we like to hang around but she talks with a friend in that class first, so I can usually find her there before she gets out."

"No thanks." AJ answered.

"What!? Why!?" Ruby childishly whined.

"Cause I want to look at the library?" AJ answered like it was obvious, just to mess with her. "See you later!" He then started walking across the campus towards the library.

"Aww…" Ruby had hoped to hang out with her new friend but realized she couldn't be around him forever and decided to let him leave.

It was a standard library, nothing special. Though honestly, it was probably a bit larger than other high school libraries. The break after third period only lasts ten minutes so he simply found a small book about birds and began reading to pass the time. Ten minutes looking at pretty pictures of brightly colored birds later the bell rang, so he put the book back where he found it (He hoped). After that, he checked his schedule to find that he had another science class.

"How had I not noticed that before?" He asked himself as he looked at the number and name of the class before heading there.

It was a totally normal ten minutes for him, nothing special happened, no new ideas came to him, he didn't think of anything funny while he read, it was boring, actually. But little did he realize was that during that totally normal time, a girl had been staring at him. 'I've never seen him here before.' She thought, suddenly curious about the new face.

* * *

AJ went to his other science class, which was Earth Science rather than… whatever kind of science Oobleck taught. He stood at the door but unfortunately he could spy neither of the sisters, but low and behold! A familiar blond took hold, of his shoulder.

"Hey!" The blond greeted.

"Oh hey! Um…" AJ forgot his name, as usual.

"Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it!" Jaune said with a cheesy smile.

AJ had quite a few different responses to this run through his head, but none of them felt quite _right_ so he went with the simplest one. "Do th-"

He was interrupted by Jaune getting punched playfully in the shoulder by the pretty red head. "No they don't, you doofus!" She giggled. "He never stops with that silly line of his!" She said to AJ. "Pyrrha Nikos."

"Well, if you have better luck than I do with names, you'll actually _remember_ that I go by AJ." AJ said, mentally cursing his inability to remember names, at first at least.

"Yes, I do remember. If you don't mind me asking, what does AJ stand for?" Pyrrha asked politely.

"Anthony Joseph, if you must know." AJ answered hesitantly.

"You're last name is Joseph?" Jaune asked.

"Maybe…" AJ said defensively as he squinted at Jaune. He soon dropped the act and laughed for a moment, to which they joined him before following him into the class.

"So, are you mad at me about what happened in first period?" AJ asked Jaune.

"Not really. I can understand why you did it, and we already had to do it before you, soooo I forgive you." Jaune answered.

"Good." AJ smiled, glad he hadn't made an enemy, but now he had to deal with once again, being in front of the class. "Hi, new student."

Once that class ended, AJ took a moment to talk to the teacher about the rules of the class and the project that was coming soon, so Pyrrha and Jaune said their farewells before leaving.

AJ left the class room, only to see an orange haired guy that was actually _taller_ than he was, bullying Jaune.

"What do you mean you don't have any money!?" Cardin asked Jaune, getting in his face.

"I don't have any money! I pack my own lunch now!" Jaune explained, fear filling his voice.

"Seriously?" AJ asked himself. "People are still stupid enough to do this? People actually do this at all? I thought this was only in cartoons or something." AJ decided to stop talking to himself and approach them. "Come on Jaune." He said as he took Jaune and was going to simply drag him away from the scene.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Cardin demanded as AJ walked by him with Jaune in tow.

"Nothing important." AJ said without looking back. 'Please don't touch me. Please don't touch me. Please give me a reason. Please give me a reason. Please don't touch me. Please give me a reason!' AJ's heart was beating a mile a minute as he looked back and saw Cardin seemingly deciding rather to grab him or not. He took the easy way and walked up to AJ, trying to intimidate him by standing tall.

"This has nothing to do with you, now let go of Jauney-boy." Cardin demanded.

"I have very little patience, and you won't believe me, but you _really_ don't want that patience to run out with you. Do the smart thing, back off." AJ calmly demanded, masking the real feelings he had inside.

Cardin glared at him for a long time, at least it felt like a long time to AJ, but eventually Cardin decided to back off and walk away. "Whatever." He said simply as he left.

"Uh… thanks for that." Jaune said slowly.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" AJ asked with a smile, now masking the fact that he really wished Cardin gave him a reason, masking the anger and frustration.

"I thought I was the only one to help someone I didn't know, you know?" Jaune answered. "Like he said, you could have stayed out of it." He pointed out.

"I can't stand stupidity."

"That's your reason?" Jaune asked, surprised.

"Yes. It is." AJ was no longer hiding his anger, but he was still hiding the reason, not that Jaune ever knew. "And… you don't deserve that. You are a good guy, to me at least. Enough of a good guy for me to consider you a friend if we just hung out a little. How could I let that happen to a friend?" AJ asked rhetorically with a smile.

Jaune nodded in agreement with what he was saying.

"Alright, well. I gotta hurry up and head to P.E. See ya!" AJ said before turning to leave.

"Wait!" Jaune called out. "I have the same class, wait up!" At this, AJ actually stopped and looked back, waiting for Jaune to catch up.

"Alright, tell me about the teacher uuummmm… Ms. Goodwitch." AJ asked after checking his schedule again.

* * *

"CALLED IT!" Rang out through the building they were using for P.E. class.

"Called what?" Jaune asked the new kid.

"I guessed the P.E. teacher would have a whip or something, and she has a riding crop." AJ explained.

Ms. Goodwitch did in fact have a riding crop, but she couldn't use it, obviously. It was just an accessory and was probably supposed to make her intimidating… or something. The blond adult gave him an annoyed look and AJ could tell he would not get along with her if he had to talk to her.

One breathless class later.

"Dude, you are more out of shape than I am!" Jaune commented.

"Ah shut up." AJ groaned as they got dressed out of the P.E. uniforms and back in their own clothes before heading out to lunch.

"So, do you want to meet my friends, or what?" Jaune asked as they walked out towards the lunch tables.

"Uh, I guess." AJ answered. "I got nothing else to do. Just not sure if I will like your friends."

"Oh I'm sure you'll be fine." Jaune said confidently. It did nothing to help AJ's confidence however.

Jaune had them sit down at a random table outside and simply wait for everyone. It must have been AJ's lucky day because Jaune's friends are none other than the sisters! And that red head girl…

"What was your name again?" AJ asked.

"Pyrrha." She answered.

"Pyrrha, Alright. I'll probably forget that a few more times, or I might not." AJ warned her.

"It's alright, just ask if you ever forget." Pyrrha said politely and smiled.

"Well big guy? How's the first day so far?" Yang asked AJ.

"It's been… its had its ups and downs." AJ answered after some thought. "Overall, better than I expected."

"Good! Glad we could help you have a good first day!" Ruby said cheerfully.

"So, why are you a new student? Did you move from somewhere, or what?" Jaune asked.

"My mom and I moved from another town." AJ answered.

"You know, you look odd in our group." Pyrrha started. "You are the only one that isn't wearing the uniform." She elaborated.

AJ looked at his own clothes and then at their uniforms. "Meh. I was told I didn't have to wear it, so I didn't." He shrugged.

"I don't really want to wear this uniform either, but the stupid dress code left me no other choice." Yang complained.

"Everything else she has is too revealing for school." Ruby explained to him.

"Everything?" AJ asked, surprised.

"Yeah, be careful if you ever see her outside of school." Jaune warned AJ.

AJ sighed before speaking. "Noted…"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, Vomit Boy!?" Yang said threateningly.

"What?" AJ asked with a smile pointed at Jaune.

Jaune sighed. "Please don't ask. You don't need to know about that." He pleaded.

"He didn't mean anything by it, Yang." Ruby tried to calm down her sister.

"Oh I know what he meant." Yang dropped the act and gained her usual smile again. "I know how distracting I am." She said proudly.

'Great, she's _that_ girl…' AJ thought.

"Hey, guys. Where's Blake?" Ruby asked.

"Who's that?" AJ asked.

"A girl that I've been great friends with since 7th grade." Yang answered. "She can be a ninja whenever she feels like it, so she'll probably pop in any minute now." And right on cue the amber eyed girl approached them.

'Great! _Another_ girl in the group! Well, Jaune said he likes video games so maybe this group won't be so bad…' AJ thought as the black haired girl walked up to them. When she was close enough that you could see her face clearly AJ was surprised to see the color of her eyes was yellow, more like an amber color. AJ forced himself to stop staring before anyone noticed.

"Heya Blakey!" Yang waved. "What took you so long? And you didn't even just appear next to us! You just casually walked up!" Yang pointed out.

"Sorry Yang." Blake apologized. "The lunch line was longer than normal."

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't use your ninja skills!" Yang pointed out, pretending to be hurt by her friend's lack of awesome.

"I'm not a real ninja, Yang." Blake said with a smile at her friend's antics.

"But you read plenty of books about them." Yang pointed out with a teasing grin.

"Yang! You said you wouldn't talk about that!" Blake complained. Her blush was either from anger or from embarrassment, or both.

AJ found his excuse to get away from them before he was caught staring when a random adult approached them. "Are you Anthony?" He asked.

AJ sighed. "Yes." He answered with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Your counselor wants to see you."

"Oh? Alright then. See you tomorrow, guys!" AJ waved as he started to leave.

"Tomorrow!? What about 6th period!?" Yang pointed out.

"I don't have a 6th period class!" AJ explained but kept walking.

He eventually found the office and sat down in the chair in front of the Freshman and Junior's counselor's table.

"How are you settling in?" The counselor asked with a friendly smile.

"I'm fine, Ms. Fall. You don't have to worry about me." AJ answered. "I actually have made some friends already, so things should be fine."

"Good. Your mother will be glad to hear that." Ms. Fall said.

"Hey Cinder!"

"Well speak of the devil!" Ms. Fall said with a laugh as a long and brown haired woman walked into her office suddenly.

"Hey Mom." AJ said to his mom.

"Hey Sweetie!" His mom said with a smile.

"Well, I would love to chat but I have work to do, and I'm sure AJ doesn't want to stay in school any longer than he has too." Cinder joked.

They both laughed along with her before saying their farewells.

'I can never get over how much he takes from her.' Cinder thought as she went back to her work.

"So, school was good then?" His mom asked as they got in the black truck they owned.

"Good. Made friends already." AJ answered, yet the only thing that came to mind was that girl, Blake. He put his hand up to his chest but unfortunately his mom had noticed this.

"Are you ok? Why are you holding your chest like that?" She asked, concerned.

AJ winced in pain. "Yeah, I'm fine. It just… it hurts to breathe all of the sudden." He lied. "It'll pass in a moment."

He wasn't sure if she saw through the lie or just was really concerned, but she put her hand over his heart as well. "Your heart is pounding, are you sure you're ok?" She asked.

"Yes Mom. I'm fine." He insisted and smiled, as if the pain was going away.

'The hell is up with me?' He thought as his heart wouldn't stop racing, so he put in his headphones and turned on some music in an attempt to calm down.

 **I was going to do this with Blake and Jaune but the idea I had for that would be too simple and would just end up being a boring one-shot, and for some reason I don't want this to be a one-shot. SO, I'm shipping Arkos as well so I can make a short little story out of this!**

 **So, Oobleck and Port weren't going to be completely fucking crazy in this story since it was supposed to be pure romance but my sense of humor got the better of me. Seriously, there wasn't going to be a pig… at all… and then it just kind of… happened… XD**

 **Oh by the way, I'm not going to explain what I think the song fully means until the end, the VERY end. I'm only going to write this story, and let you figure out what I think it means. Again, it's just my opinion and you don't have to agree with it, just don't go trying to prove me wrong, K? Cause I'm never going to agree with you anyway.**

 **So, I hope you enjoyed. If you have any questions feel free to ask, not sure what you would ask but just thought I would throw that out there. If you care, follow and or favorite, I would rather you only review if you enjoyed, but really, JUST DON'T FLAME, K?**

 **And if you MUST know, I would rather work with an OC because I can actually understand my own thoughts. Trying to do this with Sun (for instance) instead would not have worked for me, I'm just not good with some character's thoughts. I would rather work with the OC and get things right than just… I could have just made Sun act like me but that's kind of silly. I would rather admit that it's me, than hide the fact like that. Also, I need a variable that I can control, and an OC is a variable that I can do whatever I want with!**

 **Have a great week everyone! Even if you didn't like this, have a great week!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Since this isn't going to be a very long story, JUMP CUTS FOR DAAAAYYYYSSS! FYI. That goes for all chapters.**

 **Oh, I just realized something! Ren and Nora haven't been in this yet! So, I thought about it, aaaaannnndddd… they aren't going to be. Sorry! I like Ren and Nora as much as the next guy, I have nothing against them, they just aren't in my plans for this story, sorry. Trying to fit them into this would just be awkward and complicated for me. Now that I think about it, Weiss won't be in this either. And I actually had plans with her before I started this! Now that I look at my plans again, she won't be in either… sorry about that! IF I do have them it, it would just be for a moment and wouldn't be kind of odd. They can't have a major role, just mentioned in like one scene.**

 **Well, I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, or anything else (Such as video games) that I mention, reference, use, etc.**

* * *

 _They would be as in love with you as I am._

 _They would be as in love with you as I am._

 _They would be as in love with you as I am._

 _They would be in… love…love…love…_

* * *

Go about a month forward, AJ and Jaune are getting along very well. They are always talking when they have the chance, always playing together online after school. The two gamers are always getting along.

Currently, they had come out from P.E. and were walking over to their table to wait for the girls of the group, which is most of the group, really.

"So, I gotta ask. Do you have a thing for Pyrrha?" AJ asked, a bit hesitant to this up.

"What!? NO! Of course not! We're just friends!" Jaune vehemently denied.

"Are you sure? Cause I think she likes you." AJ pointed out.

"Pfft! Yeah, right!" Jaune laughed, thinking this was a joke.

"Jaune, she always acts all formal and stuff, unless she's around you." AJ argued. "Acting all open and friendly around you like that makes me think she likes you. And that doesn't include the way she looks at you in general."

"There is no way she could be into someone as dorky and clumsy as me." Jaune argued.

"You're pulling a 'me' right now." AJ deadpanned.

"Huh?" Jaune said.

They finally reached their table and sat down.

"I totally understand that thought. I, personally, think it is pretty odd at first glance as well. BUT, the look she gives you when you aren't looking, the way she reacts to the things you do, it seems obvious to me." AJ argued. "You honestly are a really nice guy, and get past the dorkiness you would probably qualify as handsome. But since I'm not a girl I can't be totally sure of that part." He added.

"No, I am not handsome. I would think you are, but not me." Jaune said.

"Hey! I'm trying to be serious here! Stop joking around!" AJ scolded.

"I _was_ serious…" Jaune said, confused. "Forget it, we'll talk about this later." Jaune said as he realized the girls were finally arriving.

Jaune did try and pay attention to the looks Pyrrha gave him, and her behavior in general. He had to admit, she wasn't being very formal with him, but she was with others. That didn't necessarily mean anything though, did it?

* * *

Later, after school. Once AJ and Jaune got online, got in a party together, and started up the game, Jaune actually decided to bring it up again. AJ had figured he was going to drop it completely, but he was wrong on that guess.

"So… how sure are you that Pyrrha actually likes me?" Jaune asked hesitantly.

AJ didn't put much thought into his answer before speaking. "Pretty sure." He answered simply.

"That's not a very good answer." Jaune deadpanned.

"Look, like I said, I try not to be certain of anything, so I'm not going to say that I'm certain. I assume that's what you were hoping for?" AJ asked.

"It would have made things easier…" Jaune sighed. "Crap! I'm down."

"Maybe if you didn't try to punch everything?" AJ suggested. "I mean, I get that you're a Titan, but really?"

"Yes! It's fun to punch stuff!" Jaune embraced his character. "Oh look at me! I'm a Hunter! I have knives and guns and cool capes and stuff!" Then made fun of AJ's.

"CLOAKS, NOT CAPES! Do you want to get revived or not?" AJ threatened.

"Yes please…Thank you!"

"No problem." AJ said. "Why are you shooting them in the head?"

"That's where you shoot them every other time!" Jaune argued.

"Do you notice the numbers in yellow?" AJ asked.

"No."

"Then you're not hitting the right place. It's really obvious, Jaune!" AJ scolded.

"Where do I shoot them if not the head!?" Jaune asked, annoyed with being treated like an idiot.

"THE BIG GLOWING THING IN THEIR CHEST!" AJ was getting annoyed as well. "I JUST SAID TO SHOOT THEM IN THE CHEST!" AJ likes to exaggerate his words.

"That one doesn't have a glowing thing, so I figured I was actually supposed to shoot that one in the head!" Jaune argued.

"All you did was make it rush us now that it doesn't have a head!" AJ yelled back. "Damn it! If it hadn't rushed us we could have taken it! Now we gotta fight through all those waves again!" He complained.

"Ah, we'll get em' this time!" Jaune said confidently.

"I get that this is your first time fighting the Vex, but come on! Big glowing thing in their chest? How do you miss that?" AJ asked, lowering his voice to normal volume.

"I wasn't thinking about it, ok?"

"I know. I'm not mad." AJ said calmly.

Jaune had figured out by now that AJ was rarely ever actually angry with him. Annoyed? Yes. Angry? Only if he had done something really stupid that ruined something AJ, or both of them, were doing. It's not Jaune's fault they didn't put a checkpoint before the cliff and had to fight all those enemies again… that was a different game though.

"Also, the Minotaurs don't have a weak point."

"Seriously?" Jaune asked, surprised.

"Yep." AJ answered.

"Great…" Jaune deadpanned.

"Seriously though, I'm thinking you should try asking her out, you never know." AJ suggested as the waves of enemies started again.

"Wouldn't she have asked me out by now if she liked me?" Jaune asked.

"Maybe she expects you to do it?" AJ guessed. "I know that I would never have the guts to do it, it could be that as well."

"So you aren't gonna ask Yang out?" Jaune asked.

"NO! Why the hell would I do that!?" AJ asked, surprised by the suggestion.

"I thought you and her were getting along." Jaune answered. "I figured you were gonna ask her out eventually."

"I wouldn't even if I wanted too." AJ said. "And I don't like her like that! She is not my type! The 'sexy and I know it' type is absolutely not my type!"

"If you say so."

"Back to your issue though." AJ wanted to shift the spotlight back to Jaune.

"I am supposed to ask out a girl that couldn't possibly like me?" Jaune guessed.

"No, you are supposed to ask out a girl that I'm pretty dang sure likes you." AJ corrected.

"I don't know, man…"

"Don't pull a 'me'! Do it next time you see her! Just ask to talk to her privately and ask her out!" AJ said.

"What if it ruins our relationship? Why can't we just stay friends?" Jaune asked, hoping for a way out of this.

"You can, but do you really want too? From what I've seen with her, she has a lot of patience with you. Also, you've missed some hints, and I can only imagine how long she's been giving you those hints. You're kind of dense, frankly." AJ said.

"So… she isn't just being nice?"

"NO, YOU IDIOT!" Jaune quickly pulled his headphones away from his ears because how loud AJ was just now.

"It's been what, a month? You guys have known each other for _years_ , and you never noticed?" AJ asked. "I don't think she wants to be just friends with you."

"Maybe you're right." Jaune said hesitantly.

"I would like to think that right now, I am." AJ said confidently.

"Wow… I'm an idiot, aren't I?" Jaune put his head in his hands as he was starting to come to the same conclusion AJ had made as he looked back on the few years he'd known Pyrrha. Maybe she wasn't just being a good friend.

"Yeah, you kind of are."

"Dude, you were supposed to say something comforting there." Jaune deadpanned.

"Right, sorry." AJ apologized. "Actually, there is one really important thing about all this that I'm forgetting." He realized.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"Do you like her?" AJ asked.

He never got an answer, there was just silence for awhile until Jaune shut down his Xbox One and went to bed for the night. AJ realized what the question had done to Jaune and simply left him to think.

* * *

And so, the next day, at school, Jaune decided to say what AJ usually says: "Screw it." And walked up to Pyrrha.

"Hey, Pyrrha." Jaune greeted.

"Hello Jaune! Good to see you." Pyrrha greeted.

Suddenly it all seemed really obvious to Jaune. He could see the look in her eyes that AJ was talking about. He could see the warm smile she gave him. He could see her whole demeanor brightened just seeing him. It was more than just friendship, wasn't it?

"Um, can I talk to you? In private?" Jaune asked hesitantly, but seriously.

"Sure, Jaune." Pyrrha asked with a confused look on her face at how serious he seemed right now.

They moved over to a building where no one was near and they both leaned against the wall.

"So, what did you want me to talk to you about?" Pyrrha asked curiously.

"I um… well…" Jaune was trying to put this into words. He had thought, oh, had he thought! He tried to figure out, alone, what Pyrrha meant to him, how he felt about her. Once he thought about it, he realized he enjoyed being around her more than anyone. Sure, it was nice to have someone else to play video games with, putting AJ in his best friend list after only one month, but she was still his _best_ friend. But they were only just friends because he was too dumb to make a move. Too busy putting himself down and making himself think he wasn't good enough for her. He still felt that way, but it was clear now that she chose him anyway, and she had been pretty patient with him about it. Who better than the one you enjoy being around the most? Sometimes that's all that love starts as, right? I guess it was time for her patience to finally pay off.

"Would you, like to go out sometime?" He asked her.

Pyrrha completely froze. She was certain he just didn't like her, he certainly didn't give any signs that he did. What made him, after 4 years, (Unlikely? Yes, but she was that patient) ask her out all of the sudden?

"Like, on a date?" Pyrrha asked finally.

"Yes." Jaune answered, still worried about her answer.

Pyrrha had to fight hard against the urge to just squeal with joy. "Yes! Where and when!?" She still showed a _little_ too much enthusiasm though… It was understandable really, she had figured they were going to stay friends forever. She had decided just being there for him, being a good friend, was enough for her. Sure, it tore her up inside, but she was going to live with that. Now? She didn't have too anymore, as long as she didn't mess this up.

Neither of them knew that AJ was around the corner, listening with held breathe. A breathe which he finally released when she said yes. 'Good for you Jaune, glad I could help.' He fought away the depressing thoughts that were coming out before heading to first period.

* * *

"Hey, AJ?" Yang said and AJ turned to her. "You seem happier than usual today, what's up?" She asked.

"Nothing's up." AJ answered. "I'm just enjoying the class."

"PYROTECHNICS!" * **BOOM** *

"Good thing the classroom is blast proof as well." AJ said.

"Good thing the whiteboard is blast proof!" Yang added.

"How is the whiteboard even blast proof?" Ruby asked.

"TECHNOLOGY!"

Ruby fell out of her seat from Oobleck appearing next to her, still covered in soot from the explosion.

"Still have no idea what I'm learning in this class!" AJ said to no one in particular.

* * *

Come lunch of that same day.

"Hey Big Guy! Where is Vomit Boy?" Yang asked as they walked up to their usual table and saw only AJ waiting.

AJ just accepted that she would use nicknames like that, and stopped complaining. "He had… somewhere else to be." AJ answered cryptically and smiled.

Yang froze in thought and realization before pointing at his face. "You know something, don't you?" She asked with an unnecessarily threatening tone.

"Maybe." AJ answered simply, still smiling smugly.

"Hey, where is Pyrrha?" Ruby asked.

"She… _also_ had somewhere to be." AJ answered, same as last time, smile never leaving, but changing.

'Is that… is that a proud smile?' Yang thought. Her eyes grew wide as cups in realization. "You didn't!"

The smile only became an even bigger and prouder smile.

"You mean to tell me that after the three years I've known them? After all the times I told Pyrrha to just go for it? You came in and after only a month, **JUST DID IT!?** " Yang shouted/asked.

"If by 'it', you mean get those two to go out? No." AJ answered.

Yang raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"It was only one day." AJ corrected, going back to his smug smile, but the pride was still there.

Yang wanted to punch him and hug him at the same time and couldn't decide which to choose.

"OH. MY. GOD! I AM SO HAPPY FOR THEM!" Ruby cheered.

"For who?" Blake asked, suddenly appearing behind her.

"I shipped Jaune and Pyrrha." AJ answered.

"You what?" Blake asked disbelievingly.

"You shipped them? AJ, this isn't fanfiction." Yang said, recovering from her stupor. (Oh, the irony of her statement. XD)

"It's about time! Pyrrha had literally given up on ever going out with him and was fine just being his friend!" Yang said. "I told her that was stupid, but she is surprisingly stubborn, and patient."

"Well, I finally have something to be really proud of myself for. I did what no one else could do." AJ said happily.

"How did you get him to listen to you?" Yang asked.

"Did you not try?" AJ asked back.

"Yes! He wouldn't listen!" Yang complained.

"Maybe it just needed to be a guy to help him?" He guessed.

"Apparently!" Ruby giggled. "Yang was pretty angry when Jaune didn't listen to her."

"I can imagine." AJ said.

* * *

"Hey AJ?" Was the first thing Jaune said when he joined party chat.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Jaune said.

"No problem." AJ waved him off.

"No seriously dude. Thank you." Jaune said. "I'm not sure I can ever repay you for this. I think it's going to work out between us."

"It already has been working out, and you're welcome. Now can you please COME REVIVE ME!?" AJ requested, since Jaune was right next to him and not reviving him.

"Right! Sorry!" Jaune apologized.

"You don't have to make it up to me anyway." AJ said when they cleared the area and beat the Gate Lord.

"Are you sure? Is there someone you need help with? Cause I think the only way I could make it up to you is if I do the same for you." Jaune said.

AJ immediately thought of Blake, but decided against it. "No, I said you don't have to return the favor. I'm fine!" He insisted.

"Are you _really_ sure though? I could help you with Yang."

"I DON'T HAVE A THING FOR YANG!" AJ insisted and Jaune laughed.

* * *

 **So I focused on Jaune and Pyrrha for this chapter! Arkos! Yay! :D SRSLY though, I'm gonna switch between the two pairings for each chapter, if I do this right, it should be a 5 chapter story.**

 **It's kind of weird for me. In my other stories I have some strange need to make the chapters 10000 words long at least, but I need to remember not to do that here! Hell, even the 6000 of the first chapter is more than the rest of the chapters are going to be with this story, at least I'm pretty sure they will be.**

 **Since these are short chapters, I'll easily be able to post more than once a week with these, so that's a plus! Find the good that comes out with the bad, will ya? Honestly, I wanna focus down on this story till it's done, then I'm going back to… SPWM probably.**

 **Welp! Hope you enjoyed! Again, sorry that it's short, but that's just how it's gonna be with the JaunexPyrrha chapters, and probably the other chapters as well. If you enjoyed, follow and or favorite, and all that other jazz.**

 **Have a great week everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I had this ready on like Saturday or something but my beta reader had life issues getting in the way and I wanted to wait till I had his opinion first, even if it probably wouldn't change that much of the chapter anyway. (Nope, my grammar has improved. I now write 'okay' instead of 'ok', much improvement, such wow) Sorry about the slightly longer wait than normal for anyone that actually cares about this fic. XD**

 **Thank you all you nice people that clicked follow and or favorite! And I'm even more grateful that there haven't been any unnecessarily mean and rude flamers in the review(s)! Glad some of you enjoy this little story, makes me feel good! (Yes, just a few follows and favorites are enough for me, I am aware that is lame but I take what I can get. XD)**

 **So, remember when I said the JaunexPyrrha chapters, and all the other chapters would be short? Well, the former is correct, the latter is false! Change of plans, it's really just the JaunexPyrrha chapters that are short! (My plans with this story keep changing…) I had few ideas for the various chapters at the time that I said that, but that changed quickly, and now I have multiple ideas for the AJxBlake chapters, ideas which you will see in a moment. So yeah, this chapter isn't going to be short. BUT, I'm pretty sure the 5** **th** **chapter** _ **will**_ **be short! And I'm also pretty sure I'm gonna have a 6** **th** **chapter, for reasons. That chapter will probably be short as well. FYI. (You could consider this the climax of the story and after this is the falling action. I can't believe I still remember that from school…)**

 **I'm not one to do progressive and "realistic" romances, as any of my readers would know. So, you don't need to tell me this is unrealistic, I never said it was. (I am very much aware this is unrealistic, but it's the only way I can think of to get the ending I want) Also, my story is trying to explain what I think the song means, but it doesn't exactly follow the theme of the song. There is depression, and humor, and mentions of thoughts of suicide (not in this chapter though), and other things that don't fit the song. I'm not trying to fit the song, I'm just trying to explain it… with a story that doesn't fit its theme… ok that seems kind of weird now that I think about it, but that's how I do things!**

 **I'm rambling again! I do that a lot. It's kind of my thing. On with the "show"!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything but this story and the OC(s), obviously. I do not claim to own anything I reference, use, etc. In my opinion it's just kind of silly to even have to say this but I've done it too many times for it not to be normal for me. XD**

* * *

 _And every day_

 _I'm learning about you_

 _The things that no one else sees_

 _And the end comes too soon_

 _Like dreaming of angels_

 _And leaving without them_

 _And leaving without them_

* * *

"You think you're being pretty sneaky aren't you?" Yang asked AJ when she found him walking away from the others.

"Excuse me?" AJ asked, confused.

"I saw the look on your face the first time you saw Blake." Yang explained, noticing him tense up ever so slightly. "You can hide it all you want, but I see how hopelessly love-struck you are with her!" She teased.

"No I'm not…" AJ plainly denied.

"Why have you not asked her out yet?" Yang asked, not believing him for a second.

"Because she doesn't like me that way." He answered.

"How do you know that?" Yang asked.

"Cause there's no way she likes me that way."

"That's not a good answer. You don't know that." Yang argued.

"It's just a stupid little crush that will pass in time." AJ said strongly before walking away.

'I don't think this is just a little crush, Big Guy.' Yang thought to herself. 'He gets Jaune and Pyrrha together, yet insists that Blake doesn't like him? I thought he told Jaune he could see the look in Pyrrha's eyes, just like I could!? So how come he doesn't see it now!?'

'And that was a month ago.' AJ thought, looking up briefly from his book and seeing Blake across the table, reading her own book. He looked down quickly before she noticed. 'Why the hell would she like me?'

"So, do you have a thing for the new guy?" Yang asked Blake as they walked to their 6th period class.

"What!?" Blake was too shocked by the question to answer.

"What? It's only been a month and you always seem to glance at him when he isn't looking. I'd say that's a pretty big sign." Yang said teasingly. "Not to mention you started wearing that cute little black bow not long after he joined our group." Yang said as she reached for said bow located just above Blake's left ear.

Blake leaned away from her grasp. "I just wanted to try wearing this." She explained.

"Suuuurrreee. It's not because you're trying to get his attention or anything!" Yang teased, getting a slap on the arm from Blake.

'And that was a month ago.' Blake thought as she looked up from her book, seeing AJ reading his own across the table. She quickly looked back down before he noticed. 'And she managed to convince me to hang out with him in the library! Nothing even happens here! It's not like it's a place to talk or anything!' Though she had to admit, she did enjoy being around him, even if he never said anything to her.

(So it's a month after the last chapter, which ended after going forward a month. Do the math and you get?... Two months since the beginning)

The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. They both closed and put away their books and stood up from their seats.

"Well, see you tomorrow!" AJ said as he walked out the library and towards the place where his mom would pick him up.

"So, how'd it go?" Yang asked her with her usual grin once she came out of the library.

"Nothing happened." Blake answered. "We didn't say anything to each other the entire time."

"Well how does that look to the guy!?" Yang asked. "You had broken the anti-social thing a year after I met you! Come on, Blakey!" She scolded.

"I don't even like him that way! Can we please just stop this!? It was really awkward…" Blake begged.

"How did it feel being around him?" Yang asked, but Blake was very hesitant to answer. "Did you enjoy being near him?"

"…Yes." Blake answered hesitantly.

"Did you glance up at him a lot?"

"…Yes…"

"Those are signs that you like the guy!" Yang said a bit too loudly, getting a few glances as they neared the class.

"Yang! Shut up!" Blake scolded.

"Sorry!" Yang whispered, realizing she was a bit too loud. "I'm telling you though, you like him. Love at first sight I bet." She said at normal volume. "Just, talk to him! Learn more about him!"

"But he isn't showing any signs that he likes me that way!" Blake noted sadly.

'Huh! Maybe she's finally accepting that she likes him.' "Maybe he just isn't one to show signs?" Yang guessed. "Maybe he actually doesn't like you yet?"

"Yet?" Blake asked curiously.

"Love doesn't have to be at first sight. He could still fall in love if you just hang out with him." Yang pointed out. "It's only natural that your bond will grow stronger if you are around someone often."

"That's true." Blake said, seemingly in thought. "So, just hang out more?"

"Yes! And maybe try talking to him more?" Yang suggested.

"But you've heard him and Jaune! They only like talking about video games…" Blake pointed out.

"Well, either find something else that he likes talking about, or talk about video games." Yang said. "I know you play video games more than you let on." She teased.

"Yes, but I don't talk about them beca-"

"Because you like books more and you want to make sure people see you as a book reader, I know." Yang interrupted. "I totally get not wanting all the gamer nerds to be after you, but now you have a crush on one, so maybe stop hiding that you like games?"

"But, then those other guys…"

"Just make it clear to them that you are interested in AJ and not them." Yang said. "Only talk about video games around him, and with him. If you two hang out a lot, then anyone else will think you like him, and leave you alone."

"Wow, that is… actually a very well thought out idea." Blake commented.

"Hey! I'm not stupid or anything!" Yang said, offended.

"I didn't say you were!" Blake said quickly. "But, you know we've been standing outside the class this whole time, right?"

The bell rang right after she said that.

"Aww crap!" Yang said and they both rushed into the class.

* * *

"How does it look to the girl when you don't say anything to her!?" Yang texted AJ after school.

"She doesn't like me like that!" AJ responded.

"How do you know that!? Have you tried asking her out!?" Yang asked.

"I'm not gonna waste my time!" AJ responded.

"What? Afraid you'll get rejected?"

"YES!"

"You won't know unless you try!"

"Why not use your own words instead of quoting people!?"

'He avoided the question.' Yang mentally noted. "Do I have to ask her out myself!?"

"You swore you wouldn't tell her!"

"Yeah, and I'm asking if I can break my promise!"

"No!" AJ denied.

"Why are you making this harder for yourself!?" Yang asked.

"Why are we yelling over text!?"

"I don't know! Answer the question!" Yang demanded.

"Because I don't believe it's better to have loved and lost." AJ answered.

"Why?" Yang asked.

"Because it already happened once and I am not going through it again!"

"Wait, you've been in love before?" Yang asked, got no answer.

"AJ!? Answer me!"

"AJ!?"

"ANTHONY!?"

"Asshole!" Yang said to herself as she realized he was ignoring her. 'Why am I keeping my promises!? Since when do I do that!? If I just ignored their pleas and told them both they had a crush on each other, those two would finally be happy!' She sighed. 'But they would both hate me for breaking a promise, that's a really big thing for them… I'm sure they would get over it and we would be friends still, but they would always remember that I broke the promise, regardless of the reason behind it…' "Damn it! I'm stuck!" She said to herself.

"You okay?" Ruby asked as she opened the door to her sister's room.

"Yeah Ruby… just fine." Yang lied. Luckily her younger sister believed her and closed the door.

"So, did anything happen with Blake?"

"Jaune, please don't. I just went through this with Yang." AJ said into the mic with an annoyed tone.

"Are you sure? I can help you." Jaune suggested.

"I thought I said I didn't want you to pay me back for getting you with Pyrrha?" AJ asked.

"I know. This isn't about that, it's about helping you be as happy as I am now!" Jaune said persistently.

"I'm fine, Jaune…" AJ said but couldn't stop the depressed tone from being present in his voice. Jaune decided it was best to just drop the issue and play the game, hopefully that will cheer him up.

* * *

Two weeks later, in Earth Science class, they were given a project. They were supposed to describe the geography of an area in the city or in the forested mountains that surround it. You work with a partner of your choosing, and take measurements, describe an area with words, name a few plants and animals nearby if you can, even though it's Earth Science and not Biology. Oobleck doesn't really teach Biology so they add in anything they can for a Biology score.

The chosen partners point immediately meant that Jaune and Pyrrha were going to be partners. Now at first, AJ thought he had only them as friends in this class. But a few days in AJ noticed Blake was in this class as well. Currently Blake was turned around in her desk near the front of the class, looking straight at him. She gave a questioning look, asking if he would be her partner, completely ignoring another guy that was currently asking her. AJ nodded and quickly looked away at the other students. It was really hard to look her in the eye and focus at the same time, just looking at her face made focusing difficult.

"So, any idea of a good place to check out?" Blake asked as she took a nearby seat.

"Umm… There's a big grassy hill not too far from the school. We could go there?" He suggested, only looking at her for a moment before looking around the classroom again.

"Sure! That will work." Blake gladly agreed. "Do you know the names of any plants or animals near there?" She asked after a time of silence.

"I know of the Ground Squirrel and the Grey Squirrel." AJ answered. "Don't know any plants though." He added.

"Alright, I know a few plants. That should give us a good enough Biology score." Blake said. "So, will we just walk there after school? Or will your mom pick us up?" She asked.

"I'm sure my mom won't mind picking us both up and taking us there." AJ answered.

"Alright, Good." Blake said, then ran out of things to talk about and they both just sat in silence while the rest of the classroom was full of chatter. The silence was awkward for her, and she wondered if it was for him as well. "Hey, um… What video games do you play most often?" She asked hesitantly.

AJ raised an eyebrow in surprise at the question, but answered quickly regardless. "Destiny mostly, since the game is new to Jaune. What? Do you play video games at all?" He asked.

"Sometimes…" She said hesitantly. "I didn't play Destiny much though. I was only level 5 or something before I stopped."

"Huh, I didn't know you played video games at all." AJ said with a chuckle, finally looking at her directly and not looking away. She wasn't sure if she preferred when he looked at her, or when he didn't. She could actually think when he didn't, but got butterflies in her stomach when he did.

"It's not something I do often. I prefer reading more than gaming." Blake said. "But just by a little." She added.

"Really?" He asked, honestly surprised. "I like gaming more than books, but I only read because I can't play games at school. I don't mind reading, but games are more fun for me." He explained and smiled.

Blake smiled as well, glad she was finally getting somewhere with him. "I guess if I only had video games and no books, I would still have fun. I suppose if it was reversed for me, and I could only play video games here, and had the option to do both at home, I would definitely be seen as a gamer at school." Blake said and they both laughed a little.

"Yeah. I guess if it wasn't for me always talking about video games, I would be seen as a book person since I'm always in the library if I'm not with the others." He realized and they both laughed again.

"Alright class! Now that everyone has their chosen partners, we can get back to reading. You all can go where you want too _after_ school for the project. Anyway, turn to page 245…"

* * *

"Oh my god! This is perfect!" Yang cheered. "You two got something to talk about, you get meet his parent, if you could just find a way to go over to his house this would be truly perfect!"

"First you said it was perfect, now you're saying it's not. Make up your mind!" Blake joked.

Blake had told Yang about her and AJ's plans with the project on the way to 6th period. AJ said he would just stay in the library for 6th period since he didn't have a 6th period class. He had texted his mom and told her that she would need to take him and Blake over to the hill near the school.

"Oh hush you! Things are going perfect between you two!" Yang cheered. "I think things will work out in the end. Just try to find a way to come over to his house sometime! Then try to make it a common thing of coming over to his house every weekend or whatever!" She couldn't contain her excitement. Things were going well and at this rate her BFF since 7th grade would finally find a nice guy to be with.

"Why are you so sure that he won't turn me down?" Blake asked.

"Umm… Hey! We need to hurry up and get to class! Come on!" Yang said before speeding away. 'Real smooth, Yang. Real smooth…' She mentally criticized herself. 'She won't suspect a thing!' She thought sarcastically.

* * *

Once class was over, Blake met up with AJ, went outside the school and met his mom, then she took them over to the grassy hill a few blocks away from the school, and said she would be back when he called for her. 'He really takes from his mother.' Blake noticed.

"Alright, so what should we do first?" AJ asked her as they began walking towards, and up, the tall hill.

"I guess we should just start with describing the area in words." Blake answered. "You can do that while I look around for animals and plants in the area."

"Alright, but it's just a hill. Not much to say, not many animals to see." AJ noted.

"Squirrel." Blake said matter-of-factly.

"Where!?" AJ said excitedly as his head spun to where she was pointing. The squirrel that was sitting there spun its head to face them and froze for a moment before running and hiding in the hole nearby. "Oh, you were serious!" AJ realized before laughing.

Blake laughed as well. "Were you referencing a movie?" She asked.

"Yeah. You know which one?" He asked.

"Yeah." She answered with a nod.

Once they reached the top of the hill, AJ sat on the boulder that was at the top and began trying to write while Blake walked around and looked for various plants and animals.

"Ugh… I'm not good at elaborating more than necessary." AJ complained to himself, not knowing that Blake could hear him. "Come on AJ! You read a lot of fanfiction! Some of those people were ridiculously descriptive! Just try to be like them!" He said confidently. "Ah who am I kidding?" He whined.

Blake giggled lightly, and quickly covered her mouth in hopes that he didn't hear her. She looked back down at the paper she had which had Ground Squirrel and Grass listed on it. 'He's right, there isn't much to this area.' She thought. 'I guess it makes things easier for us.'

"A beautiful green hill, nothing but beautiful grass on all sides of it. There's a boulder at the top of the mini-mountain that's mostly flat on top."

 ***BOOM***

"Recent development: There is a small crater in the South side at the bottom of the hill. The explosion is courtesy of… Hey Blake! Who is that girl down there!?" He asked her.

Blake walked over next to him and looked down his side of the hill. "That would be Oobleck's daughter, Nora."

"Come on Ren! You have to admit that was awesome!" The girl at the bottom of the hill said.

"Let's agree to disagree Nora…" The boy next to her said.

"How can you disagree though? EXPLOSIONS!"

'I can _hear_ the resemblance…' "The things I find normal!" AJ randomly shouted up to the sky before looking back down at the paper in his lap. "Courtesy of Nora Oobleck. The crater looks to be a decent size from up here…"

"Do you know what bird that is?" Blake asked.

AJ took a moment to look away from his paper to turn in the direction of her voice…

…and find a small black bird with a bit of red on its wings standing on the boulder, right next to him, and just staring at him.

"Well hello there." AJ greeted the bird with surprise evident on his face and in his voice.

The bird tilted its head at him before flying away.

"Red-Winged Blackbird." AJ named, looking at her with a pleasant smile on his face from being so close to a wild bird.

That smile made her knees feel weak and made her feel warm inside. "A-Alright." She said with a nod and wrote the name down on her list before turning away from him. 'Oh hey! Dandelions!' She wrote them down as well, trying to focus on the project, and succeeding only for a few minutes. 'Maybe I should just ask him, since he might just not be the type to ask me… then why am I hesitating!? Why not just do it!? WHY!?'

"There isn't anything else to say!" AJ whined. "Alright, my job is done. Do you think you'll find any other plants and animals here?" He asked her as he stood up from his stone seat.

"N-No. I already wrote down the different flowers I could find, and a few birds as well. But we've only been here for half an hour! Maybe we should stay awhile longer?" She suggested.

"I don't want to have to keep writing more changes because of Nora's explosions." AJ said. He looked out at the side of the hill he hadn't really looked at and saw various bright colored flowers scattered throughout the grass.

"It's really pretty, isn't it?" Blake asked, looking out at the flowers as well.

"Yeah…" AJ stared out for about 15 more seconds. "Well, I'm gonna text my mom and have her come get us now." He exclaimed while pulling out his phone.

"Okay…" Blake said, trying to hide the disappointment in her tone. 'Why couldn't we stay for a little longer?' "Are you just not an outdoors person?" She asked.

"Not really, no." AJ answered. "To be completely honest, no." He added with a chuckle. Once he texted his mom he did take a few pictures of the flowers.

"But you take pictures of it?" Blake asked curiously.

"If it's a pretty enough scene, yeah." He answered. "If there weren't any bugs outside I might be more inclined to go outside." He said jokingly, but was serious about what he said. "Like, if there were ants on that boulder, I would never have sat on it."

"Phobia?" She asked.

"No, I just don't want them to touch me. I'm fine with watching bugs, but I'm not fine with them touching me. I always feel like they're going to bite me." He explained.

"I understand. I've been bitten a few times before, when I was reading outside." Blake said.

"Heh, at least you aren't allergic, right?" AJ said with a chuckle.

"Right." She said and chuckled as well.

There was a moment where they both just smiled at each other before they both blushed and looked away simultaneously.

"Umm… AJ?" Blake asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you…" She was interrupted by AJ.

"Oh hey, mom's here. Come on." He said and motioned her to follow. Her shoulders sank but she followed none the less.

"Want me to drop you off?" His mom asked her when they both got in.

"No, it's okay. I like the walk." Blake answered.

"If you say so." His mom accepted her decision hesitantly.

They eventually arrived at AJ's house, Blake mentally noted where it was and how she would get there from her own house. It was just an average two story house in the suburbs.

"I hope your house isn't far if you plan on walking." AJ said as they got out of the truck.

"It's fine." Blake said as she brushed some hair back behind her ear. "It's not that far, actually."

"Oh, good! Well, be safe." AJ said to her before turning to walk away.

"AJ?" He stopped and looked back at her. "I… I don't really have anything to do at home… would you mind if I could come hang out sometime? Like the weekend?"

"Um, sure! I don't mind." AJ answered.

"Are you sure? Wouldn't I be interrupting your weekend?" Blake asked shyly.

"If you have nothing to do at home, then you can come here when you want too." AJ answered with a smile.

'Oh, if only you knew what you were doing to me with that smile…' "It's just… I don't really… like being home…" Blake said hesitantly.

"Why not?" AJ asked, looking quite concerned.

"I… my parents are always… gone… on the weekend." Blake explained hesitantly.

"Oh." AJ said sadly. "Then feel free to come over anytime!" He said confidently.

"Really?" Blake asked curiously and slightly hopeful.

"If you are alone during the weekend, then absolutely come over if you want!" He said surely. 'Don't get why she doesn't just hang out with Yang instead, they're better friends than I am with her.' "Just text me before you do in case there is something happening here that would cause me to say no." He added.

"If you're ever lonely, just come on over." His mom added with a soft and friendly tone.

And with the parent's confirmation, she knew it was okay.

"Alright! Thank you very much!" Blake said before turning to begin her walk. "See you later, AJ!"

"See you later!" AJ called back.

"So, is she your girlfriend?" AJ's mom asked.

"No, she's not!" AJ replied and his mom laughed at his denial.

"Why not? She's pretty."

"Mom!" AJ whined before walking inside while his mom laughed.

* * *

Blake was currently on her laptop. It was the weekend and she was currently sitting on AJ's bed while he played his games. She had thought about what Yang said about getting to know him, so she decided to search up ways to understand people. Ways to understand people, what different things mean about people, what certain behaviors can mean for example. There were a couple useful sites, a couple good suggestions from people on the internet, but it was one quote she found that stuck with her as she stared at it.

"Psychologists say: If a person laughs too much, even at stupid things, he is lonely deep inside… If a person sleeps a lot, he is sad… If a person speaks little, but speaks fast, he keeps secrets… If someone can't cry, he is weak… If someone eats in an abnormal manner, he is tense… If someone cries over little things, he is innocent and soft-hearted… If someone becomes angry over silly or petty things, it means he needs love… Try to understand people."

'That's just the kind of thing he would agree with. I'm sure he would like to see this quote.' Blake thought. She couldn't help but wander in her mind when she read the last part. She can't even think/see/hear the word "Love" without thinking about him. 'And I suppose it kind of fits him, he does get angry quite a bit when he's playing games…' She thought with a chuckle.

AJ was quiet at first when she came over. He and his mother were friendly and welcoming, but when he started playing games he was quiet. His annoyance only being heard as an annoyed growl, or a frustrated sigh. As he got used to her being near while he played, he stopped being quiet, and started being more like himself.

"Goddamn it!"

And that meant a lot of swearing…

"Son of a!"

"Hey, AJ." Blake leaned towards him and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

He looked over his shoulder at her. "Yeah?" It had gotten easier for her to look at him. She didn't feel an urge to look away, she didn't lose focus if she kept staring, and it seemed to be the same with him. He maintained eye contact more often and for longer, and he seemed happier around her, she noticed.

"Come look at this quote, I think you'll like it." Blake said, motioning him over to the other side of the bed, where she sat.

It had been three weeks since she started coming over on the weekends. Sometimes she played games with him, but most of the time she would do other things while he played like read a book or search the web, occasionally watching him play as well. They got along just fine, but she wished for more than just this. 'I really should just tell him.'

"That's a nice quote. I definitely agree with it!" AJ said before crawling across the bed and back to the side of the bed that faced the TV. "People really should take the time to understand others more." He added.

"Yeah." She agreed. "Most people don't think about stuff like this. What certain behaviors mean and all that."

"Yeah… Most people just see you get angry and assume you have anger issues…" AJ said. She noticed the tone in his voice. That's the tone he uses when he describes things he doesn't like, things that annoy him.

"I don't think you have anger issues. I get how annoying it is to play these games sometimes." Blake said comfortingly, crawling over and sitting next to him after closing the laptop.

"And I really appreciate that." AJ said thankfully. "And yeah, it's pretty annoying that the only way I ever die is getting shot in the back… LIKE THAT!" He said with a laugh and she giggled at the timing.

Blake sat in thought for awhile, glancing at AJ while he was focused on the game. They were getting along so well, there really was no reason not to try. So she opened her mouth to speak, but his luck with timing in video games is like her luck with trying to admit her feelings to him, because her phone went off. 'Every time I actually find the guts to say it!' She mentally whined.

"AJ."

"Yeah?" AJ asked, not looking away from the game as he was in the middle of a gun fight.

"The location we chose for the project was too simple, so he wants us to do something a bit more for the project." Blake said. "He suggests doing something like drawing or painting an area, or doing the whole project again in another area."

"Yeah, no thanks." He interrupted. "I swear that guy gives me more work on purpose or something."

"There are a few things we could probably do, but I can paint and draw, so let's do that!" Blake suggested.

"If you say so. Wait, what am I supposed to do then? I can't even draw a stick figure." AJ pointed out.

"I could put you in the picture?" Blake suggested.

"Do I have to stand still the whole time? Cause if I do, that isn't going to work…" AJ deadpanned.

"No." Blake chuckled. "We just need to find a nice area, and I can add you in." She explained.

"Alright, good." AJ said after sighing in relief and then going back to his game. "Son of a bitch!"

Blake put a hand on his shoulder and noticed his whole body visibly relax.

"It's too late to head out now, let's go tomorrow after school, alright?" Blake asked with a smile.

"Monday, yaaayyy." AJ said sarcastically, getting a chuckle from her.

Too much time had passed now and she had lost her nerve, she would just have to hope for the next time.

* * *

The next day, at lunch.

"Hey! AJ!" AJ spun around at the voice to find Cardin standing before him while the others were getting food from the cafeteria.

"Cardin? What do _you_ want?" AJ asked, not hiding the hostility in his voice.

"What!? Can't a guy just say hello without being assaulted!?" Cardin asked, quickly dropping the casual and friendly act. "You're a real asshole! You know that!?"

"You are so much worse Cardin. You have no idea." AJ stated.

"Fuck you dude! At least I have a girlfriend!" Cardin shouted.

"And?" AJ asked, unamused.

"And, all you ever do is talk about video games with Jauney-Boy!" Cardin said. "You're never gonna have a girlfriend, you know that?" He asked.

AJ turned away from Cardin and began rummaging through his backpack. "Yeah, and?"

"You're gonna die alone, asshole!" Cardin was getting annoyed with AJ's lack of reaction.

'Man, he really just personally hates me.' AJ sighed. "And?"

"You're just a lazy nerd whose never gonna get a girl! You have nothing! No one likes you! Not even Blake, she's just being nice because she feels sorry for you!"

"And how would you know that?" AJ managed to say, the careless tone replaced with a monotone one.

"She told me!"

"I'm sure she did…"

"How can you stand being so fat and lazy!? Don't you hate yourself!?"

"Yeah. What of it?" A bit of hostility seeped into AJ's tone. 'I'm ridiculously thin, you idiot…' He thought.

"I don't think you're even hearing me, so I'll say it again! You're a lazy nerd whose never gonna get a girl! You're never gonna be in love! You're ugly and you're gonna die alone and never be happy!"

"I KNOW!" AJ yelled at the top of his lungs as he spun around and punched Cardin in the face, knocking him flat. His whole body was shaking in rage and tears were starting to appear in his eyes. He quickly put on his backpack and ran… out of the school.

"AJ! WAIT!" Blake called out as she ran after him.

"Who the fuck do you think you are to say that to him!?" Yang yelled as she picked up Cardin by his shirt. They had seen the whole thing, coming back just before the line that made AJ react. Normally she would never swear around Ruby, but she would make an exception this time.

'Geez! For someone who puts himself down about being out of shape, he can run pretty fast!' Blake thought as she chased him down the streets, all the way back to his house.

AJ collapsed against the door to his house and cried. 'Nice job looking like an idiot in front of everyone!' He slapped himself for being weak, and cried more. He heard footsteps coming close to him but kept his head between his arms, not daring to look up. "Just go the fuck away…" He said weekly as he sobbed. Instead of the person leaving, they came closer, as he predicted. He wasn't really going to do anything if they didn't listen anyway. The next thing he knew the person wrapped their arms around him and hugged him. He opened his eyes and saw he was looking over the person's shoulder, their bare shoulder, and he only knows one person that wears anything sleeveless.

"B-Blake?" He asked. She had recently stopped wearing the uniform and started wearing her own personal clothing to school. When asked why, she never gave a real answer.

"It's okay AJ. I'm here." She said comfortingly and hugged him tightly.

For some reason the comfort and safety he felt being this close to her made him more willing to stop hiding his emotions and he broke down again and cried into her shoulder for the next few minutes while she whispered calmly into his ear. "It's okay… It's okay… Just let it out." Rather than do as she said when she said that, he leaned away from her shoulder to look up at her.

"C-Can we g-go inside?" He asked between sobs.

"Of course." Blake nodded and took his hand and guided him inside, then up the stairs, then into his room, then they both sat down on his bed where he started crying into her shoulder again.

Blake didn't even know how long he cried for, but eventually he stopped crying and only sobbed, then awhile later he stopped sobbing and only sniffled occasionally. Seeing this tall, nice, seemingly carefree guy clinging to her and crying like this really got to her, and it made her want to beat Cardin, _badly._

"Don't worry. I took care of Cardin." That was a message from Yang that she had gotten awhile ago, but only now checked while AJ was resting after the whole event. Blake was sitting on the edge of the bed while AJ was resting his head on the pillow on the other side.

"Good." Was all she sent back.

"Did you find him?" Yang asked.

"Yeah." Blake answered.

"How is he?" Yang asked in another text.

"Better now, but he would have been much worse if I hadn't come over and comforted him." Was Blake's response.

"What happened?" Yang asked.

"He just cried, for a long time." Blake answered hesitantly.

Yang's next text took a few moments longer than the others, probably from surprise that AJ could even cry.

He was nice. Overall he really was just a nice guy, like Jaune. He just tried to make them laugh all the time. He was funny, friendly, but scary when he was angry, which was something they only saw when Cardin was around. Of all the things they saw from him, sarcastic, funny, annoyed, stressed, cocky sometimes, happy, angry… sadness didn't even seem to be a thing for him. They had never once seen him sad, a little depressed maybe, but never truly sad.

"That would explain why you didn't respond till now." Yang texted.

"Exactly."

"I'll leave you alone for awhile then." Yang texted, so Blake put her phone away.

If sadness was something he never showed, it must have taken a lot to get him to be sad, and when he was, it apparently wasn't pretty.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Blake said. "I would never ask you to, after all this." She looked down at her shirt and saw it was wet from his tears.

*Sniffle* "Thank you. I don't really want too anyway." AJ said, wiping away the last of his tears and sitting up to look at her.

She crawled over to him and sat down in front of him. "I hate seeing you like this." She said, concerned for him.

He looked down and away from her in shame. "I wish you didn't have too…" He said sadly.

She grabbed his chin and pulled his head up to look at her. "No. As much as I hate seeing you like this, I'm glad I was here to help you."

"I'm… glad you were too." AJ said, finally gaining a smile.

She smiled as well seeing this and let go of him.

"Should we… go find something for me to paint soon?" Blake asked hesitantly.

"Soon, but not yet. C-Can we just rest for awhile?" AJ asked hesitantly.

"Sure." Blake answered. They both lied down on the bed but just as Blake was about to question what they were doing his arms wrapped around her and he buried his face into her shoulder, much like when he was crying. The way he was holding on so tightly, like he was afraid to let go, made her hold him just as tightly, hoping it would comfort him. They lied like that for another 30 minutes before she decided she should wake him up and get ready to go so she could paint something.

He lazily opened his eyes and looked up at her, his eyes a bit less red they were before from crying.

"I know I place we could go to." AJ said tiredly.

"You do?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. My mom would make me go on a 'forced march' there sometimes, like on Mother's Day. It's a pretty place, should make for a nice picture." He explained.

"Alright then, whenever you get ready we'll go." Blake said and they both got up and got ready for the long walk.

* * *

It was a short distance into the forest. A dirt path, a boulder on the right side, a small creek on the left side with water flowing through it, and a beautiful, large tree on the other side of the creek with light shining between its leaves.

"Wow, you weren't kidding! This place is beautiful!" Blake said in awe.

One thing she had noticed throughout the walk over to here, he wouldn't leave her side. He either was holding her hand, or he had his arm wrapped around hers. And if he wasn't touching her he was staying really close to her. 'He really needs me right now, doesn't he?' She thought as she walked over to the boulder on the right side of the path.

She sat down there and got out her canvas, paint, and paint brush, and took a good look around her before preparing to start. AJ took a seat next to her and looked around and looked at her, he didn't really have anything else to do.

It was a long and boring time for AJ, just sitting there and watching her paint only entertained him for so long. He felt he could pass the time easily if he stared at her for a bit, he would get lost in her features pretty quickly, but he couldn't do that. It would be weird, and rude, and make things awkward. He eventually decided to suck it up and walk away from her so he could take a closer look at the tree.

Blake was surprised that he walked away, she figured he would be basically dependent on her comforting presence for the rest of the day. She looked up from her painting-in-progress and was stunned by the sight. AJ was standing at the edge of the creek, staring up at the tree and smiling. The light that was making it through the leaves was shining right on him, making his eyes sparkle.

Blake shook her head so she could focus. 'For the work I'm putting into this, _and_ the fact that we had done the project already and the teacher just wasn't satisfied, we _better_ be getting extra credit for this!' Blake thought as she began putting the scene into her painting.

"Do you do other forms of art besides painting?" AJ asked as he sat down next to her again.

Blake looked down the path and noticed two people walking their way, so she figured he had gone back next to her for safety from them. "Yeah. I also draw." She answered. 'He hasn't said a word since we began this walk.' She noted. 'Well, until now at least.'

"Why not just draw this then? It would be less work." AJ said.

"If I draw it I won't get all the color. I mean look at this." Blake motioned at the scenery around them. "I wouldn't really capture the scene if I didn't add the color. I don't draw with colored pencils, just regular pencils, so there wouldn't have been any color." She explained.

"That makes sense." AJ said before going silent and sitting close enough so that their shoulders were touching. Others would find this to be invading their personal space, but Blake was barely hiding her smile, and her blush. She wasn't complaining about his clingy behavior, she thought it was cute. She also understood the reason for it. If you are feeling down you either want to be alone or you want someone to be near you at all times.

Eventually Blake finished the beautiful picture, with AJ added in as well, staring up at the tree. With that finished they headed back to his house and relaxed like on the weekend, even though it was Monday. Blake was careful and stayed next to him while he played his games, making sure to comfort him if he ever got frustrated.

He had been yawning a lot for the last half hour and he looked really tired, but kept playing none the less.

"I think you should go to bed soon, you're tired." Blake suggested.

"No I'm not." AJ said and then immediately yawned again after saying that. "I'll be fine until you head back to your house."

"I think I might stay, make sure you're okay." Blake said.

"I'm fine." He insisted. "And I'm not tired either." He said as he yawned.

"You need to sleep, now." Blake insisted and went to turn off his video games.

"No, I don't. I'm not gonna fall asleep while a guest is here." AJ said argued, too tired to actually stop her.

"But I'm not leaving today, I'm staying." Blake argued.

"No, you're not staying. You need to go home." AJ said tiredly.

"I'm staying here because your mom won't be back till like, midnight." Blake said insistently.

"I can take care of myself." AJ said with yet another yawn.

"Just come on and go to sleep." Blake insisted and went to grab his hand and drag him over to the other side of the bed.

"I'm fi-" He was silence by Blake pressing two fingers against his lips, making him freeze and blush.

"Just shut up and listen to me." Blake said softy and rested his head in her lap.

"I'm not tired though…" AJ denied but spoke barely above a whisper as his eyes started to close.

Blake ran her fingers through his hair, which had grown a bit longer and thicker over time. The action seemed to be relaxing him as he closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep. She took a moment to look around and the room, which was now lit only by moonlight coming through the window. When she looked back down she saw his half open eyes staring up at her.

"Thank you…" He whispered.

She wondered if he was asleep right now for a moment but decided to respond. "For what?"

"For… being there… for me…" He whispered before closing his eyes again and it was clear this time that he was out.

* * *

Blake hated what she was about to do right now.

She had waited about an hour before she was sure that AJ would stay asleep before slowly and carefully moving him. She set his head on the pillow, got up, and walked over to a blank book on a nearby table in the room.

She was about to read his diary. She told herself not to, but still found herself reaching for, and opening, the book anyway. 'This is so wrong! He would never allow me to do this, so I shouldn't break his trust by reading his inner thoughts like this!' No matter how bad she felt about doing this, her curiosity got the better of her. She was very careful to check on him in case he woke up and was ready to quickly put the book back if he awoke.

"Yay! New fucking city! Oh joy! No friends here! Oh well. I guess I'll just power through the school year and after that I'll ask mom to have me home-schooled." 'What a way to start a diary.' She thought sadly. "How could I lose my best friend's number!? IDIOT! Now I can't even text with him and laugh away a bad day… Welp! Back to shitty public school tomorrow, let's see how that goes!"

She turned the page to the next passage, as there was only one per page, even if the passage didn't take up the whole page.

"Ok, maybe I should have started my first diary on a more positive note, like this one! Why not just pretend this is the first passage? Ah, I don't really care that much about it. ANYWAY, first day of school was great! Those sisters are really nice, a bit annoying in their own ways but that's how people are! And then there's Jaune. He's a nice guy, and he plays video games! I gotta remember to ask him for his gamertag so we can play sometime!"

'What? Nothing about me for the first day?' Blake thought as she turned to the next page.

"I certainly didn't think I would even make friends with a girl this year, yet that's what most of the group consist of! It's kind of funny, really. At least Jaune is there! He loves video games as much as I do! It would have been really weird it I was the only guy in the group, but that's what Jaune has been going through for awhile now probably."

"I feel like I'm just getting in the way sometimes! XD Like, these people have all been friends for years, and then I just come in and I don't know anything about any of them! At least I was able to figure out that Pyrrha likes Jaune, that much I could tell. What _do_ I know about them? Jaune is nice and the kind of guy I can actually get along with. Pyrrha is really polite and professional unless she's around Jaune. (More proof right there!) Ruby insists on making sure I feel welcome in the group, she's just so nice to me. She is clearly just an innocent little soul that likes being nice to people, and she made my first day a lot better than I thought it would be. Yang… Yang is Yang, and she's definitely not my type, let's just leave it at that! XD"

'Is he purposely leaving me out or something?' Blake thought and turned to the next page, seeing that there was a jump in the date by about a week.

"Of course with my luck I manage to have a crush on a girl in only like two weeks! Stupid crush! Go away! I'm trying to get through the school year here! Now that I think about it, I think it was love at first sight! HAH! And I thought that didn't exist! XD DAMN IT! Why do things have to be so difficult for me!?"

And with each passage there was another jump of a week or so.

"AGH! Why does she have to be in the group!? She barely ever says anything to anyone other than Yang! I can feel my heart beating faster just at the thought of her, and I thought there was something wrong with me! IDIOT!"

"I don't even get why I like her! She's ridiculously beautiful and it's hard not to get lost in her eyes, but that doesn't mean anything! She likes books, but definitely doesn't like video games, and she definitely doesn't like me!"

'Why would he think that?'

"Another day. HOW CAN I SAY THAT!? This school is freaking crazy! Especially Port and Oobleck, like what the fuck!? XD Oobleck's class is awesome though, not gonna lie. But if you take a moment to think about how a teacher is creating small explosions in his classroom, how is that even allowed!? Sigh… Another thing, I'm glad I helped Jaune and Pyrrha get together. I'm especially glad when I think about how they've known each other for 3 or was it 4 years. Despite that, I would be even more glad if they went somewhere else when they got all fluffy… Like seriously guys, trying to get those thoughts out of my head, and you're also depressing me here."

The next one was written when Blake started coming over on the weekends.

" 'So, did your crush go away yet?' NO YANG, no it hasn't! If anything it's gotten worse! I can't focus near her! I just want to stare at her all day, and I wish she would like me back but that would never happen! Get your stupid head out of those stupid love fantasies of yours, AJ!... Why do I find it so weird to say my own name?..."

"I can't say we don't get along well now. At first she didn't even talk to me, now she's like a completely different person. She smiles a lot, laughs more, almost like Pyrrha with Jaune… pft! Yeah right! Well, at least I can look her in the eyes and not get nervous."

'Wait… this next one was written today! When did he write something today?' Blake thought as she looked at the next passage. 'He must have written it when he asked me to step out of the room so he could change.'

"I really just need someone to cuddle with and I could live happily… I'm not even comfortable writing that down, I want it to stay in my mind and never leave. She stayed and comforted me while I cried all over her, and never complained. She's beautiful, sweet, and nice to me. She was around me when I was at my worst and still stayed. If anyone was 'the one' it would be her. I need to just tell her already, but I never will. I'm just gonna think of another stupid reason not to, or there won't even be a reason and I just won't…"

'He… he really does just want someone to love.' Blake thought. 'Someone to love him, outside of family of course. If he gets angry over small things, he needs love…' She looked up at the sleeping boy. He looked so peaceful, you could barely tell he had cried earlier today. And, he looked really cute curled up in a ball like that. 'Someone to cuddle with, huh? That's what he wants the most, someone to comfort him. I suppose we all would like to have someone to cuddle with every once in a while.'

She remembered his mom and looked out the window to see if she was back yet. 'Nothing? Oh right, he said she was always late for things.' She remembered, seeing it was just after midnight and his mom still wasn't back yet from whatever she was doing. 'Guess that's a good thing this time.' She thought as she looked back at her sleeping crush.

Blake crawled into bed with him, pulled the blanket over them, and hugged his face to her chest. His unconscious reaction was to wrap his arms around her and snuggle more, to the point where she was a bit worried she might smother him. 'Isn't it normally the guy's job to comfort the girl? Well… not this time. He's the one that needs comforting this time.' She thought before falling asleep.

* * *

They woke up in that same position, and Blake gently shook him awake. "Good morning."

"Morning." He lazily responded, but didn't move.

"AJ… what do want right now?" Blake asked suddenly.

"To stay like this forever." He said as his grip tightened around her. 'He really is afraid to let go.'

"You know you can't do that, right?" Blake asked cautiously.

"Yeah, but I can dream." AJ said with a chuckle before letting go of her and getting up to stretch, so she did the same. Despite how quickly and seemingly easily he let go, it wasn't easy for him to leave the comfort he felt in her embrace. 'Her skin is just so soft!' He thought but quickly tried to focus on other things.

'He's hiding behind that laugh and smile again.' She thought, and walked over to him. "AJ?"

"Hmm?"

"If you ever need anyone to talk to, to comfort you, I'm here, okay?" Blake said.

"Okay." He said with a nod and a smile. "Thank you." And he kissed her on the forehead, leaving her frozen in shock and blushing. "For everything you've done for me, especially yesterday." He said before walking out to head downstairs and get something to eat. 'I was right, I don't need love. I just need someone to care for me as much as she does, rather she has feelings for me or not.' AJ thought, satisfied and happy.

After recovering from her stupor, Blake remembered that they are both in love and just haven't admitted it yet. She could just admit it now and all would be well, but his mom doesn't know she's here, and she might assume they did something. First, she needed to sneak out of the house without his mom knowing she was ever there. Then, she could plan how to tell him, and she had an idea of what she wanted to do. Anything would have to wait till next weekend, then when she comes over, she would tell him. 'If we're both in love, than I guess there's nothing wrong with waiting till the right time, when his mom wouldn't assume anything. Besides, I still need to get ready for school!'

"Oh, good morning Sweetie!" His mom said when he walked into the kitchen. "I walked up to your door when I got home but didn't hear anything, so I left you alone."

"Oh, thank you. I was just really tired yesterday and decided to just go to bed early." AJ said, mentally very thankful that she hadn't opened the door. "It wouldn't have been great if you had woken me up then." He said with a chuckle.

'Going to sleep before midnight is early for him!? Oh yeah, he did tell me that before.' Blake realized. She had overheard the conversation on her way out, using her supposed ninja skills to get out without his mom ever knowing. She looked back as she walked away, like she did every time. She couldn't help but hate every time she left that house.

"Well that's good! You really should get more sleep than you do on a school night." His mom said.

"Yeah yeah." He waved her off jokingly.

"So, pancakes or ramen?" She asked.

"Do you even have enough time to make ramen that I can eat, and then have me get dressed, all with enough time for you to get me to school?" AJ asked.

"Good point. Pancakes it is then!" His mom agreed and got to work on said food item.

When AJ had a moment he quickly went back up to his room and picked up his diary. He didn't know if he would even write anything else for this passage but he decided to start it off with the one thing that was in his mind.

"Despite the sadness and anger and hate, it really felt good to cry for once." He wrote down before quickly heading back downstairs and getting in the truck to head out for school.

* * *

"Hey, are you okay?" Yang asked AJ the moment he stepped into the school.

"You didn't ask Blake that already?" AJ asked casually.

"Of course I did! But we're all really worried about you and we wanted to make sure you were okay!" Yang said seriously.

"Yeah! Are you sure you're okay?" Ruby asked as she ran up to them.

"Besides the fact that I don't look forward to the looks I'll be getting in this school, I'm fine." AJ answered, although they weren't sure how truthfully the answer was.

Jaune and Pyrrha shared their concerns during the break, Yang scared away anyone that looked at him wrong, Blake stayed nearby rather than going to the library, Ruby was being her childish and cheerful self in an attempt to get him to laugh, which she succeeded in. 'Usually he's the one trying to make us laugh.' They all thought as they watched him laugh at her childishness. She was somehow able to balance a ramen noodle cup on top of a pencil, which was on top of a book, which was on top of a pen, which was on top of another book, which was on top of another pencil, which was balanced on her finger. Oh! And all that was while she was balancing on one foot and making silly faces, all to get a laugh out of him.

He really appreciated how much they all clearly cared for his wellbeing. All of them cared for him in their own way. All of them tried to make sure he was happy and that he knew they cared. It truly touched him to know they all really did worry about him when he ran away like that. He never thought that many people would worry about him. Maybe one or two, his best friends, but not a whole group like this. Even more surprising was that a few random people got past the glare that Yang gave them to express their concern for him! Since they were outside when Cardin began antagonizing him, many people saw it or heard about it from others who did, and more than a few people actually felt bad for him.

'I guess some people are starting to grow up.' AJ thought. 'I figured they would all just laugh at me for crying. Usually people think that's _real_ fucking funny, but I have noticed stupid stuff like that less and less since I started going to high school at all.'

What surprised him even more than strangers caring for him was that the school had said nothing about it! Usually, even if you had good reason for it, you would get in trouble for hitting another student, but he wasn't going to question it. He would simply assume that it was either going to be an issue for him later, or they actually realize he shouldn't be in trouble and are leaving him alone.

* * *

Later at lunch it was the same thing, especially with Ruby and her silliness.

"Guys, I'm not gonna break down suddenly. You don't have to worry so much anymore." AJ chuckled.

"We are just making sure you're okay." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed.

"And I am okay." AJ said.

"I'm staying near in case Cardin comes back." Yang said with an annoyed tone just from the thought of Cardin.

"Yeah. I don't think he learned from the lesson we gave him." Jaune said with a similar tone.

"I want to ask Mr. Port something. Blake, you wanna come with?" AJ asked as he stood up.

"Sure." Blake nodded and follow him to Port's class. "So, what is it you want to talk to Port about?" She asked curiously.

"Well, I really just want to pet Edgar." He explained. "I really like animals so I just kind of want to do that right now."

They walked into Port's class and were greeted by Mr. Portly Man himself- I mean Mr. Port!

"Hello there students! Is there something you need?" He asked them.

"Not really. I just wanted to pet Edgar." AJ answered and the pig gladly accepted the contact.

"Oink! Oink!" Edgar oinked.

"Haha! He remembers you as the one that likes to pet him the most!" Port translated, which was frankly a _bit_ odd.

"Actually, is there any reason why you named him Edgar?" AJ asked.

He suddenly felt the overwhelming sense that he shouldn't have asked that as Blake backed away slowly and Port suddenly went dead silent for a minute.

Then he began whispering gibberish to Edgar as he pet him.

"Could you speak up a bit?" AJ asked.

Port suddenly got in his face and creepily whispered. "Edgar… _always Edgar_ …"

"O…K…" AJ began backing away slowly as well before they both ran out the door to get away from the clearly insane teacher.

 **I felt like this chapter was 2serious, so I decided to lighten it up with that reference! XD**

 **Well, hope you enjoyed. Sorry about any moments where I vented a little, everyone has their ways of venting.**

 **I am actually unsure about how long the next chapter (Which is a JaunexPyrrha chapter) will be. It could be short, could be a bit longer than the last one. It will go back in time though. Back to the last JxP chapter to be exact, and then will catch up with this chapter time-wise. It definitely won't have as much content as this one did though, like, at all. (I didn't mean for this chapter to end up the size of a normal chapter for me, it just kind of happened. "You could have done it in two parts." Yeah, but I don't really need to. I'm trying to make a point in this chapter. I'm not gonna split that point into two chapters. None of the other chapters are getting that treatment)**

 **If you do review, don't flame. (Not gonna ask that you review cause it didn't end well last time I asked) If you enjoyed, follow and or favorite, and check out my bio if you read my other fics. (I made a change to the bio. Changed what it says for when I post, along with a few other changes and an extra thing that gives a bit of backstory to my other fanfics. Specifically The Plus One series and Team SPWM.)**

 **Whatever you do, have a great week everyone!**

"Psychologists say: If a person laughs too much, even at stupid things, he is lonely deep inside… If a person sleeps a lot, he is sad… If a person speaks little, but speaks fast, he keeps secrets… If someone can't cry, he is weak… If someone eats in an abnormal manner, he is tense… If someone cries over little things, he is innocent and soft-hearted… If someone becomes angry over silly or petty things, it means he needs love… Try to understand people." I would appreciate if you all could take this advice to heart, especially the one about anger. Don't laugh at people's anger or make fun of them for it, cause that doesn't help, you're just being a jerk and you're only making it worse.


	4. Chapter 4

**So, my plans have changed again for this fic. I think I'm actually gonna NOT have the 6** **th** **chapter. It was going to be sort of an epilogue thing, but I decided I would like the ending chapter (The next chapter, Ch.5), to be THE ENDING. Not an ending and then an epilogue, just the ending. The final chapter, with nothing following. GET THE POINT? You get the point.**

 **So while this is supposed to be a PyrrhaxJaune chapter, I'm not sure it's gonna be THAT focused on them, sorry for anyone who cares. Admittedly, their pairing is kind of filler and an extra event to add to the OC's character and I guess to really make him something special in the group, despite not being around as long as everyone else. It helped him and Jaune get along better after all. Edit: Actually, they ended up helping more than I thought with this fic. They ended up being more than just filler! Yay!**

 **I'm gonna stop myself before I start rambling again, I just try to give you guys info and I end up having a lot to give you guys!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or anything else that I use, reference, etc. All of those things belong to their rightful owners and not me.**

* * *

 _Being as in love with you as I am_

 _Being as in love with you as I am_

 _Being as in love with you as I am_

 _Being as in love, love, love_

 _Love, love, love_

 _Love, love, love_

* * *

Honestly, Jaune could understand Pyrrha's excitement over the past few days. I mean, she did know him for 4 years now, and she had recently told him that she had fallen in love the first time she saw him. That's 4 years with your crush and not getting to actually be with them romantically. Honestly though, Jaune didn't understand why she didn't just tell him at some point. Then again, he's one to talk.

He had felt something for her for a long time as well. The feeling had probably come up after knowing her for a whole year. Interesting how it took another guy like AJ for him to really consider what those feelings really were. She had never moved on to other friends, other people that he thought she would have been better off with. That kind of commitment could cause feelings to form sometimes. 'I mean come on! The first time we met she found me stuck in a tree when I was trying to rescue a cat that was stuck in the tree!' Jaune thought. 'Why the heck _didn't_ she move on!?'

"Why did you choose me?" He asked the girl in his arms a few days into their official relationship when she had visited his house.

"Why did I choose you?" Pyrrha asked confusingly, tilting her head slightly.

"Yeah. Why did you choose a dorky nerd like me over any other guys?" Jaune elaborated.

"Oh come on! I thought I told you not to go on about this!" Pyrrha whined.

"Yeah, but back then I thought you were just being a good friend that was trying to cheer me up." Jaune pointed out.

"No Jaune. I chose you because… well I already said I fell in love the first time I saw you, but… Once I got to know you, you just seemed like a genuinely nice guy! You may have been a dork, but you were a nice dork." Pyrrha said with a chuckle. "You were caring, and nice, and cute, and sometimes you kind of reminded me of a brave knight."

"How so?" He asked curiously.

"Well, being a brave knight meant you had to be brave." Pyrrha said.

"When was I brave?" Jaune asked.

"Well, you always climbed up into trees without hesitation when there was a cat trapped in it." Pyrrha answered with a chuckle. "There was that one guy that tried to bully me and you suddenly forgot your fear and stood between me and the bully."

"But you were the one that ended up beating him up." He pointed out depressingly. "I just got beat by the guy."

"But I only did it to protect you, and I only needed to because you were willing to forget your fear to protect me, making him go after you. It was because of your bravery that that bully finally learned his lesson." She pointed out, cheering him up quite a bit. "Even if you weren't the one that hurt him, you were still an important part of it. Without you, it might never have happened." He fully perked up now and recovered his charming smile that she loved so much.

"Thanks Pyrrha." Jaune said happily. "For cheering me up, and for choosing me."

"You're welcome." Pyrrha said with a smile and they kissed. "Thank you for finally asking me out." She said after the kiss.

"Yeah, sorry about that…" Jaune said sheepishly.

* * *

"You know, I would have liked a few days to get used to having a girlfriend before the others knew about it." Jaune complained as he saw Yang yelling and waving at them as they were walking up to their table for break.

"Well, you didn't tell AJ he couldn't tell the others." Pyrrha pointed out. "And even if he didn't tell them, I would have." She added and skipped over to the others with Jaune next to her.

"Hey everyone!" Jaune greeted.

"Hey-O." AJ said casually from his seat at the table.

"Hey guys!" Ruby greeted with her usual cheer.

"Hello." Blake greeted.

"Hey lovebirds! How's it going?" Yang asked.

"Great." Jaune said.

"Wonderful!" Pyrrha agreed.

"Good! Glad you two are _finally_ together and happy after all this time!" Yang said. "If you two had just asked each other out earlier you guys would probably have a kid already." She teased.

"What!?" Jaune asked in shock.

"What!? No! We would never do that while we were still going to school!" Pyrrha said, a blush coming over her face as well as Jaune's.

Yang laughed at their embarrassment.

"And I wouldn't have added anything to this group. I would just be the new guy that doesn't know anyone in the group that well." AJ pointed out. "Frankly I figured in a scenario like this, where everyone in the group gets along well and a new guy comes in, the new guy would be shunned or something."

"I would never let that happen to the new guy!" Ruby said. "No one deserves to have a bad day on the first day of school, and they certainly don't deserve to be shunned just because they're new to the group!"

"I'm glad people like you still exist in the world. I can't say enough that you have made going to this school bearable. Thank you." AJ said to her and she blushed and shied away from his praise.

Blake did not like the praise she was getting. She wanted that directed at her.

"What? And I did nothing to brighten your day?" Yang teased and put him in a one armed headlock.

"I wouldn't call what you're doing right now 'brightening my day', Yang." AJ complained as he pulled his way out of her grip.

"Damn, you're pretty strong for having stick arms." Yang both complimented and insulted him.

The fact that he stood up and put his weight on one hip, crossed his arms, and gave her "The Look" told her that he was focused on the insult part.

"Oh don't you raise your eyebrow at me! You know it's true!" Yang said.

"And?" AJ asked, not changing from his current pose.

"And, you should get more exercise!" Yang answered.

"Yeah, no thanks. I'm good." AJ said before going to sit down.

"No, you're not! You should come to the school gym with me after school!" Yang suggested.

"No thanks." He would rather have just said "No" but didn't want to be rude for no reason.

"You're going with me after school." Yang insisted. "Tell your mom that she can pick you up later."

"And if I just run for the truck before you can stop me?" AJ threatened.

"Then I'll just stop you next time." Yang threatened back.

He realized that she could just wait for him and stop him before he gets to his mom's truck, so he didn't really have a choice.

*Sigh* "Fine." He conceded.

"Glad we could reach an agreement." Yang said with a smile. Not long after that the bell rang so they headed off to their next classes.

Eventually school ended, and Yang found AJ waiting for her in front of the library. She guided him over to the gym and ignored his grumbles and complaints about "better things to do" on the way there.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, we won't do this on Mondays. I know you don't want to do this and no one likes Monday, so I'll give you that." Yang said as he looked around the gym.

"Make it so I don't have to do this on Mondays, or the weekend, and you have a deal." AJ said and soon found a few weights to lift.

"Just work on lifting weights at first. Getting rid of your noddle arms is the first thing we'll do, but we're obviously going to be working out the rest of your body as well." Yang explained.

'Why does she care so much about this? Ah, I don't really care.' "Can you at least not call my arms that? Kinda hurts my feelings if I'm being honest…" AJ said reluctantly.

"Aww! Is the big guy just a gentle giant?" Yang teased.

"Yes. You couldn't tell?" AJ asked seriously, which caught her off guard.

"Um, no, I couldn't." Yang answered.

"Well now you know. Just because I'm tall doesn't mean I'm not a nice guy." He pointed out.

"I knew you were a nice guy, I just didn't know you were sensitive." Yang defended.

They eventually made a schedule of exercises and machines for him to use, and found a few things that he actually kind of enjoyed in the gym, not that he would admit it in front of her.

* * *

A month later and Jaune had seen Blake and AJ go to the library together, so he waited till his gaming buddy got online to ask him how it went.

"So, did anything happen with Blake?" Jaune asked AJ when he got online.

"Jaune, please don't. I just went through this with Yang." AJ's voice came through the mic with an annoyed tone.

'Oh, looks like Yang asked him before me.' "Are you sure? I can help you." Jaune suggested.

"I thought I said I didn't want you to pay me back for getting you with Pyrrha?" AJ asked.

"I know. This isn't about that, it's about helping you be as happy as I am now!" Jaune said persistently.

"I'm fine, Jaune…" AJ said, but Jaune could tell he was depressed about this. He always seemed to be depressed when Jaune tried to talk about this kind of stuff. He also clearly looked away from him and Pyrrha whenever they were doing romantic stuff. Jaune felt bad about it, but the only thing he could really do now was play games with AJ and hope he helps his friend. It's the least he could do to return the favor, to thank AJ for what he did for him.

"You probably wish you hadn't helped us get together, huh?" Jaune asked as they neared the end of their last mission for the day.

"Well… the thought is there… but that thought is a selfish and stupid thought. I'm glad you two are happy." AJ said, sounding truthful, but Jaune had no way of knowing what his face looked like on the other side of the mic.

"But you wish you were in love as well?" Jaune asked sadly.

"Yes." AJ said simply. If he was ok-ish he would have said "Yeah", but an emotionless "Yes" like that means he is not ok, not ok at all.

"I'm sorry about that, man… I-"

"Hey, can you come revive me here!?" AJ requested, interrupting him.

'Did he just… jump off the cliff on purpose when I wasn't looking?' "Right! On it!" Jaune said and respected AJ's clear, indirect but plenty clear, wish to drop the subject.

Two weeks later, while AJ and Yang were in the gym.

"Hey, AJ." Yang said.

"Yeah?"

"We're not gonna be going to the gym tomorrow, ok? Just thought you should know." Yang said.

"That's fine. Why though?" AJ asked curiously.

"Don't ask how, but I found out that you have a project tomorrow, so I figured I would let you get home earlier to get started on it, whatever it is." Yang explained hesitantly.

"Thanks. And don't worry, I won't ask." AJ conceded, figuring that whatever she did was against the rules. 'Kind of sad that by knowing her well enough I immediately assume she did something against the rules. It certainly tells a lot about her character.'

Yang sighed in relief that he didn't ask.

Next thing Jaune knew, Blake was hanging out at AJ's house every weekend. When Jaune would ask if they were going out he was always met with denial. When Yang teased them about getting together they both would glare at her and deny that they were going out at all.

* * *

Cardin had been a pain, but AJ ignored him more than anyone else.

He effortlessly ignored him and insulted him casually, infuriating Cardin to know end. Cardin stopped being just a jerk to everyone and really focused on insulting AJ, still to no avail. Any physical bullying was met with a real reaction, but not the kind Cardin would like. Even his personal insults had been light compared to what he did today.

"I don't think you're even hearing me, so I'll say it again! You're a lazy nerd whose never gonna get a girl! You're never gonna be in love! You're ugly and you're gonna die alone and never be happy!"

"I KNOW!"

Normally it was nonsense about how he was gay or something stupid like that, it was never anything that made any sense. Apparently it was different this time and it was something AJ felt was true, and he just couldn't stand that.

"AJ! WAIT!" Blake called out as she ran after him.

"Who the fuck do you think you are to say that to him!?" Yang yelled as she picked up Cardin by his shirt.

"How could you say that at all?" Pyrrha said in shock.

Ruby was holding back tears and Pyrrha had taken to comforting her while Yang beat Cardin.

Or at least she would have if Jaune hadn't knocked him out of her hands and grabbed him.

"I… am ashamed… to be in the same _race_ as you… Asshole!" Jaune said slowly, shaking in anger, before punching him again. "You have… no right… to say that to him! To anyone!" Cardin just glared at him from his spot on the concrete floor.

Yang picked Cardin up and socked him in the face. "You're a fucking disgrace of a human being!"

"What the _hell_ could make you do that to him!?" Jaune demanded.

Cardin glared at them and nursed his wound, not answering them.

"I have to assume you had a pretty bad life to feel the need to do that to him!" Jaune said. "But I don't care! Whatever you went through, you had no right to do that to him." He said just above a whisper as he got in Cardin's face before backing off.

"All he's ever done is insult me and get in the way!" Cardin finally said.

"You deserve it!" Jaune yelled.

"Stupid bullying like this is kid stuff. We're in high school, grow up!" Yang yelled and moved to punch him again, but only to scare him.

"I hope you didn't want anyone to help you with whatever your problems were, because now you will never get any help from anyone here." Jaune said before walking back to Ruby and Pyrrha.

"I want to hit you so much more!" Yang yelled and Cardin flinched. "Damn it…" She said to herself before turning to follow Jaune.

(I would just like to say that I hope we find out Cardin's backstory in canon, so we can understand him and maybe not hate him, like it is with Weiss now. I just decided to use Cardin as the bully for this story cause that's what they have made him out to be so far. Despite what my fics may suggest, I don't hate Cardin, or Weiss, they're just characters in a show after all. But, I do hate those kinds of people, bullies and racists. Of course there's no racism in this fic, but still)

"I really hope AJ is ok." Jaune said once he joined the group, or what remained of it.

"I hope so too…" Yang said sadly. "Blake ran after him, so they'll probably be ok. I really hope he doesn't take his anger out on her."

"No, he's too smart for that." Jaune said with absolute confidence. "He wouldn't hurt her."

Everyone was quiet after that, still shaken up after what had happened. Yang had texted Blake, Blake had told her what happened, and the blonde decided she should keep the information to herself. Everyone in the group made sure to try and cheer him up when he came back the next day. Yet, the only thing that seemed to change was that he stayed a bit closer to Blake than normal. They had been hanging out, they all knew that, but had to wonder what happened yesterday to make them become even closer. It was strange for him to seem so unaffected by what seemed to be a traumatic event for him, but then again, he always did seem to bounce back from any negative feelings. But only Blake knew that he really just stored the emotions away so no one would know, no one would worry.

* * *

"Should we… I don't know… help those two?" Pyrrha asked Jaune when she went over to his house after school.

"Who?" Jaune asked.

"AJ and Blake." Pyrrha answered. "I think they like each other. No, I'm sure they like each other."

"I'm starting to think that as well." Jaune agreed. "But AJ denies that they are together or going out at all!"

"Again, should we help them?" Pyrrha asked.

"I want to… but." Jaune started before looking out the window. "I don't know. I can tell he doesn't want anyone to help him. He certainly doesn't want _me_ to help! But I don't want them to end up doing what we did, you know?" He asked, looking back at her.

"Absolutely! I was thinking the same thing, I don't want them to take anywhere near as long as we did." Pyrrha agreed. "They are already taking too long."

"He seems fine, until you talk to him about love and things like that." Jaune pointed out.

"He always looks away from us when we're cuddling and stuff like that." Pyrrha added.

"I just think he would be happier if he _tried_ going out with Blake." Jaune said.

A certain someone had finally come out of school after being in the gym for awhile, and was passing by Jaune's house.

"Those two are too stubborn for their own good!" Yang said as she climbed into the room through the window.

Was passing by the house… and is now inside the house…

"Yang!?" Jaune asked.

"It is _just_ like working with you two!" Yang continued. "You both were too stubborn to even try! And now they're being just like that!" She said as she finally climbed through the window and stood before the couple who was still sitting in Jaune's bed. "It's like I'm surrounded by ridiculously stubborn people!" She complained.

"What are you doing here!?" Pyrrha asked Yang.

"I heard you two talking from the window, it was open." Yang "explained."

"But you couldn't have heard us from the sidewalk! You would have had to walk up to the house to hear us!" Jaune pointed out.

"Well, I thought I might catch you two doing… something." Yang answered hesitantly.

They both stared at her like she had gone crazy for a minute before they finally moved again.

"Yang, you're weird." Jaune said.

"You're a lot of things, but I think what Jaune said works well enough." Pyrrha agreed and now Yang looked at her oddly. "What? Sometimes simple is best."

"Alright… Anyway!" Yang started. "You agree that they need help? A little push in the right direction?" She asked them.

"Yes." Pyrrha answered with a nod.

"Yeah." Jaune answered.

"Well, we should think of a plan then." Yang said as she sat down on the edge of the bed with them.

"Agreed." Pyrrha agreed.

"Are you sure? He really doesn't want us to help." Jaune pointed out.

"I never told you guys what happened after Cardin, did I?" Yang asked them. They both shook their heads, so she continued. "Blake didn't want to tell me what exactly happened, all she would say was that he cried _a lot_ and she comforted him the whole time."

"Really?" Pyrrha asked in shock while Jaune was too shocked to speak.

"I know, I was shocked as well." Yang said.

"I can't imagine him crying." Pyrrha said, saddened by the thought of what AJ must have gone through two days ago.

"He seemed almost unaffected yesterday…" Jaune said, finally recovering from his shock.

"Ruby helped with that." Yang explained. "It's just a natural thing for her to try and make people happy, just like how it's natural for AJ to try and make us laugh." She said with a chuckle. "I promised not to tell anyone this, but AJ and Blake _do_ like each other."

"Wait, they do?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah. I've talked with both of them, just like I did with you two, trying to get them to go out with each other. During this, I found out they both fell in love with each other at first sight. They _would_ be a couple already if they just stopped doing what you guys did!" Yang explained.

"Alright, its official, we need to get them together." Pyrrha said certainly. "Let's come up with a plan!"

"Yeah!" Yang cheered. "Let's ship them!"

"Alright…" Jaune said hesitantly.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at Pyrrha. "You know this is better for them. Just like you and me, they will end up happier because of this." She said before kissing him. "Now let's get them together, alright?"

"Alright." Jaune said with a nod.

"Alright, if we're all ready then… Just don't tell Ruby about this, she'll ruin the whole plan." Yang added before they began coming up with a plan. "Alright, so I think we should all go to the park for this. That will make a nice scene for them and we can give them some privacy. We'll tell everyone we're going over to the park to hang out and stuff once the weekend starts…"

…

"And after that, we tell them to just go do it!" Yang said.

"You think that will work?" Jaune asked, unconvinced about the plan.

"Of course it will! In the end, we just have to force them to do it, and they'll do it. Then they'll realize they are both in love and it will all work out!" Yang answered. "But everything we do tomorrow will get them to think about it and they won't feel like they're just being forced, because they'll realize that they want this to happen!"

"Alright, if you say so." Jaune said, still a bit unsure.

"I do say so." Yang said. "They won't be able to stop thinking about it for the remaining days before the weekend, so they'll almost certainly have convinced themselves to admit their feelings!"

"I know AJ doesn't want us to help, but once this is over, they'll both thank us for it." Pyrrha assured him.

"Right." Jaune conceded with a nod.

* * *

 **Plans have begun forming! And I intentionally skipped them over so you wouldn't know the whole plan until you actually saw it for yourselves! Next week, the finale of this not-all-that-great series! And don't forget the purpose of this fic!**

 **I already have chapter 5 finished, and there is no way I can wait till next week, SO, I'm gonna post the final chapter tomorrow. I spoil you guys too much!**

 **Follow, favorite, all that jazz, don't flame in the review section, and…**

 **Have a great week *Crosses out week* day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**THE FINALEEEEEE! Here we go!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides the story and the OC, obviously. I do not own or claim to own anything I use or reference, those things are owned by the people that own them.**

(Oh don't worry, I didn't forget the lyrics)

It's Thursday now, after school actually. Yang and AJ were in the gym, and Pyrrha and Jaune were talking with Blake as they were heading towards the gym. The plan was ready, and they were going to enact it.

"You know… you've really improved!" Yang said as she blocked and dodged AJ's barrage of punches and kicks.

They had begun sparring recently, and Yang found that he was actually a very tough opponent when they spared the way they currently are. They had protective coverings on to keep anything important, like their faces, from being damaged in their spars. They only walked away with bruises at most. Why the school's gym had this equipment, they had no idea.

"Yeah… I know!... You keep… checking me out!" AJ teased, causing Yang to take up the offensive against him, forcing him to block and dodge, while trying to sneak in a strike occasionally.

Yang saw a right hook sneak through her attacks. With no time to block, she jumped back from him to avoid the attack.

"Not what I meant." Yang said. "Although I will admit, you do look good." His response was a roll of his eyes for some reason. "What I meant was that you're getting really good at sparring." She explained.

"Yeah, but only because you were nice and listened to me when I asked us to only do punches and kicks." He said. "If it was a fight where we put each other in holds I wouldn't get very far."

"I still don't get why you asked that though, cause I know a couple holds you would _love_ for me to put you in!" She teased.

He rolled his eyes again before they approached each other once again.

"Besides, I have it worse because there are two areas of your body that I can't hit!" He joked.

"Oh really?" She asked with a teasing tone.

"Yeah! Your chest, and your _precious_ hair!" He teased.

"Hey! Don't dis the hair!" She laughed before they finally started sparring again.

"So, still denying that you and Blake could ever be a thing?" She asked between strikes and blocks.

"Yep." He answered simply as he ducked under a right swing before responding with a left.

"You're being like Jaune and Pyrrha." Yang pointed out.

"And?" He asked simply.

She stopped playing nice and hit him in the chest hard before tripping him onto his back. She hated when he asked that.

" _And_ , there's no reason not to try." Yang answered, looking down at him.

"We've been over this a thousand times." He said as he got up again before going on the offensive.

"And I'll go through it a thousand more times if it means you two are happy." She said as she easily blocked his strikes.

He tried for a side kick, but she blocked it with her left. He pulled his right leg back before she could grab it and quickly tried for a left hook, which she blocked.

"I'm happy as it is now!" He pointed out before breaking away and faking a left and going for a right, which she leaned back to avoid.

"She isn't!" She said as she kicked forwards at him, he blocked it with a raised leg and kicked back, she blocked with her right hand and swung with her left.

"Oh!" He grabbed her arm and threw her over him. "And you would know!?" He asked as he threw her to the ground.

"Yeah!" She yelled before getting up again. They both glared at each other before going at it again.

"How!?" He asked as he swatted her hands away when she tried to grab him.

"I've known her for years!" She answered and dodged his right jab, then his left jab, then his right, then blocked his left and shoved him back before going on the offensive. "And I believe you two are perfect for each other!"

"I disagree!"

"I don't care!" Yang shouted and knocked him flat on his back. He groaned in pain for a moment and opened his eyes to see her sit next to him. Both of them took a moment to calm down and slow their breathing before speaking. "You two get along so well, and I think you are a great guy and that she could use a guy to help her lighten up." She said calmly, almost softly.

"I know." He groaned and put his head in his hands. "I just can't… for no logical reason, I just can't!" He whined.

She pat him on the back comfortingly, then heard a voice and turned to the doors to the gym. She saw Pyrrha and Jaune talking with Blake. 'Perfect.' "Hey guys!" She greeted.

AJ turned around to see who it was and instantly brightened when he saw Blake.

"Hey guys!" Jaune greeted back.

"Hey, can I talk with you for a minute Blake?" Yang said suddenly and dragged Blake away from the others.

"What is it?" Blake asked curiously. She and Yang started walking away from the gym while Yang started her part of the plan with Blake.

"How's it going with AJ?" She asked seriously.

"Good." Blake said with a smile.

Not the answer she expected.

"It is? Like, are you two going out now?" Yang asked, confused. After her moment with AJ she had figured nothing had changed, yet Blake's smile made it almost look like they were together now.

"Not yet." Blake answered, not losing her smile.

"Not yet? You always just said 'no'. Why are you so happy?" Yang questioned.

"I know he shares my feelings." Blake answered.

"What!? How did you know!? I mean when did you-" Yang took a moment to calm down. "I mean… If you know he likes you, then why aren't you going out?" She asked with an annoyed tone. "What's stopping you two then!?"

"Nothing, I just want to do this a certain way." Blake answered.

"Do what?" Yang asked.

"I'm going to admit my feelings to him in a certain way." Blake answered. "I just want to do something more than just admit it to him, 'I want to do it a certain way'." She explained.

"Hey AJ."

"Hey Jaune." AJ greeted back while he laid back and enjoyed his moment to relax, now that sparring was over.

"Um… Pyrrha? Can you… go for a minute, please?" Jaune asked politely. "There's something I want to ask."

"Of course." Pyrrha nodded in understanding and walked out of the gym.

"Is this gonna be bad?" AJ asked, concerned.

"No, just private stuff that you might not really want to talk about with me, let alone her." Jaune explained as he sat down next to AJ.

"You're my only male friend, there isn't much I wouldn't talk to you about." AJ said reassuringly.

"Well, I just wanted to talk to you about how it is with Pyrrha and me." Jaune said.

AJ raised an eyebrow at him. "Why?" He asked, confused.

"With me and Pyrrha, when we hang out…" Jaune started, and AJ realized that the question he asked was being ignored and accepted it. "We normally just cuddle watch TV together, or she'll watch me play video games, or maybe we would go out and get something to eat or go watch a movie." Frankly Jaune felt a bit awkward talking about this, but kept his mind focused on what the goal was here. "I think… even if we didn't do anything, I would still love every moment around her." He smiled. "She's just so perfect. I hate myself for not going out with her earlier, but there's no point in complaining now, cause now I have her. I really can't thank you enough for that."

"Ok." AJ nodded, excepting him to continue.

"You don't get where I'm going with this?" Jaune asked. AJ seemed to think about it for a minute, but Jaune decided to just answer for him. "There's no point in you and Blake taking any longer than it is." AJ sighed in annoyance. "You shouldn't take as long as we did. God, I _hope_ you don't take as long as we did! A couple months is plenty of time, I believe."

"I know…" AJ said sadly and looked away from him for a moment.

""What would you two do if you were together?"" The two blondes asked suddenly.

"What?" Blake asked in surprise.

"Huh?" AJ asked, not sure he heard him right.

"I told you what we do together, what would you two do together?" Jaune asked.

"Knowing him, we would probably cuddle a lot." Blake said with a chuckle. "And I wouldn't mind."

'Is she even a cuddler?' Jaune thought.

"Probably play games and read books together." AJ said hesitantly.

'Play games with him? She _did_ admit that she likes video games to him! Good!' Yang thought.

"I would be there to comfort him, so I would never have to see him angry or sad." Blake said with a sorrowful tone for a moment as she said the last part.

'He believes she will do that for him? I suppose if they're in love than she would gladly help him.' Jaune thought.

"We would hold each other and fall asleep together." AJ said with a smile.

'Aww! They would be so cute together!' Yang thought.

"We would kiss each other and say how much we love each other and we would be the happiest couple in the world!" Blake said happily.

'Even happier than me and Pyrrha?' Jaune thought.

"But I don't have to worry about that! We're in love, and all I have to do is tell him how I feel and we'll be doing all those things!" Blake said with a big smile on her face before she finally calmed down and regained some composure, but she still couldn't stop smiling.

Yang couldn't help but laugh a little at Blake's unusual behavior. "Good! I can't wait to finally see you two together!" Yang said cheerily before remembering what the plan was and quickly pulling her phone out in a panic.

"So, why not-" Jaune was interrupted by his phone going off. He looked at the message and saw it was from Yang.

"ABORT MISSION! Don't tell him to just go tell her!" Was what Yang had texted him. 'Huh? Why? Alright, fine!' "Uh… sorry AJ. I got to go home now. I have something to do there! Uhh… Yeah, bye!" Jaune lied and ran away quickly to go talk with Yang.

AJ could tell he was lying, but wasn't going to worry about that. Jaune had brought up a lot of thoughts that he couldn't get out of his head.

"Why did we abort mission!?" Jaune asked Yang when he, Yang, and Pyrrha all met up.

"I could also ask what happened to my part of the plan." Pyrrha pointed out.

"I'm sorry, I really am!" Jaune said to her. "But I kept feeling like this was stuff he shouldn't have to say around you, and that he probably wouldn't want too, so I had you go in case it would help."

"I suppose you're right." Pyrrha conceded.

"Ok, so apparently our plan is pointless now." Yang said to them.

"What?" Jaune asked in confusion.

"Apparently Blake is already going to admit her feelings for him, so we don't need to do anything. I stopped you in time, right?" Yang asked Jaune.

"Yeah, I was literally in the middle of the sentence where I tell him to just tell her." Jaune answered.

"Oh good! That was close!" Yang sighed in relief. "I just figured we should let Blake do this her way, since the result will be the same either way." She explained.

"Fair enough." Pyrrha said. "So, when should we except to see them together?" She asked.

"Blake said her plan is to tell him during the weekend." Yang answered. "So we'll see them together next Monday."

"Alright, good! I'm happy for them!" Jaune said with a smile.

"And you don't think anything will go wrong?" Pyrrha asked Yang.

"What would go wrong? They're both in love, so I don't see what would go wrong." Yang answered.

* * *

The next day, Friday, when lunch had just started.

"Hey! AJ!"

"Hey Cardin." AJ said simply to the orange haired bully that somehow was taller than him.

"I'm so tired of you." Cardin said angrily.

"You and me both." AJ said simply. "I haven't even done anything today, so can you please just leave me alone?" He asked.

Cardin's response was to growl and then try and punch him in the face.

With no one but Jaune and Pyrrha to see it, AJ dodged by tilting his head slightly, and punched Cardin in the gut, causing him to collapse to his knees.

"Whatever happened to you to make you like this, I'm truly sorry that it happened." AJ whispered to him before casually walking forward down the hall to head to their table outside.

Jaune and Pyrrha finally unfroze and quickly followed AJ, walking past a shocked Cardin who seemed deep in thought about something.

'After everything I've done to him… he actually is sorry?' Cardin thought. 'Why? Why would he be sorry about me? Why doesn't he hate me!?'

"Why did you do that?" Pyrrha asked him hesitantly.

"He's only human, something had to make him like that." AJ answered without looking at her. "I hate him, but I feel bad for whatever must have happened to him. Maybe he lost family or something? Maybe he was bullied like I was? I don't know. I probably never will, he would never tell me something like that, but I don't care. I just hope that someone helps him someday, or he fixes it himself." They were stunned by his answer, and the fact that he hoped for a happy ending for someone like Cardin. "I just hope he ends up happy. That's what we should all get to be, happy." He said before he set his arms on the table to rest his head and he closed his eyes with a smile on his face.

* * *

Saturday, just after noon.

AJ heard a knock at the door and went to answer it. He opened the door and was greeted with Blake's smiling face.

"Hey Blake." He greeted her.

She suddenly hugged him. "How's your day been?" She asked him once she broke away from the hug.

He stared at her for a second and admired her smile before shaking his head. "Good. Though I've only been awake for maybe an hour." He chuckled.

After she greeted his mom he went up to his room and went back to the game he had paused. She sat down next to him and watched for awhile, occasionally making small talk and commenting on things as they always do. Joking and laughing and just enjoying the day, at first.

"You know… I'm not sure I would still be here if it wasn't for you." He said suddenly.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"I'm not sure I wouldn't have just sunk into a depression and killed myself if you hadn't followed me." He answered, shocking her.

She hadn't just been helping him with his emotions, she had saved his life.

"Why would you do that?" She asked, concerned.

"Cause ever since second grade people were jerks to me, for no reason most of the time." He answered. "I spent all of 6th grade, till the end of 8th grade, wanting to kill myself because everyone seemed to hate me and I was failing all my classes, partly because of it." He explained.

She felt overwhelmingly bad for him and hugged him to comfort him.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you." She said.

"It's alright. I just kind of stopped caring once high school started." He said. "I still hated people and hated life but had no intention of killing myself anymore."

"Please stop talking about it!" She said suddenly, on the verge of tears.

He looked up at her curiously. "What?" He asked, concerned and curious.

"I can't stand the thought of you killing yourself, so please stop!" She requested.

Now it was his turn to comfort her, he sat up straight and hugged her to his chest. "Alright, I'll stop. It's ok." He whispered to her till she calmed down. Eventually she did calm down and soon watched him play his games again. The only difference being that she held onto him the whole time, the thought of losing him not leaving her mind.

* * *

About half way through her visit she decided to take out her phone, put in her headphones, and started her favorite song. She didn't just listen to it though,

She put all her emotion into singing it. (This is the part where you start listening to the song)

"Light reflects from your, shadow. It is, more than I, thought could exist."

"You move through the room, like breathing was easy. If someone believed me,"

"They would be as in love with you as I am."

"They would be as in love with you as I am."

"They would be as in love with you as I am."

"They would be in, love… love… love…"

AJ had pulled part of his headset off so he could listen to her singing, and he kept glancing at her while she sang. She wasn't looking at him, just had her eyes closed as she sang.

"And every day, I'm learning about you, the things that no one, else sees."

"And the end comes too soon, like dreaming of Angels…"

He was astounded at how beautiful her singing voice sounded and had taken off his headset completely and was watching her as she let go of him, got up, and continued singing.

"And leaving without them…"

…

"And leaving without them…"

He couldn't help but stare at her. Her voice was even more beautiful than usual, she looked even more beautiful than normal, and he just wanted to tell her right then and there but he was too captivated to do anything but watch. Then she opened her eyes and her beautiful amber eyes stared back at him as she sang.

"Being as in love with you as I am."

"Being as in love with you as I am."

"Being as in love with you as I am."

"Being as in, love… love… love…"

And he froze when he realized what she was saying to him.

"Love… love… love…"

"Love… love… love…"

She slowly got back onto the bed and crawled towards him as she continued singing.

"And with words unspoken, a silent devotion. I know you know what, I mean."

"And the end is unknown,"

She had pinned him down as she stood on her hands and knees in front of him, her arms on either side of him and her face getting closer to his.

"But I think I'm ready,"

Her face was within inches of his and she closed her eyes.

"As long as you're with me."

And she kissed him.

(Quick! Pause the song!)

A very pleasant eternity later she broke the kiss and stared lovingly at him.

"I love you. I've loved you since I first met you. I can't wait any longer and I want to be with you." Blake said to him. She had put one hand on his chest and could feel his heart beating as fast as hers was.

He was still frozen in shock and disbelief for a bit before finally blinking. "Y-… You do?" He asked.

"Yes!" She answered. "I can tell that you need me, and I love every moment I'm around you, so there's no reason for me to wait any longer! I love you!" She said again.

"I… I love you too." He said finally and she felt an incredible amount of relief and hugged him. He returned the hug and held her tightly. She knew he liked her but was still worried about his response regardless.

"So… I guess I don't have to let go?" He asked her.

She giggled. "No, we can stay like this forever." She answered. They stayed like that for quite a few minutes before she spoke again. "I don't mean physically."

He chuckled. "I know. But, now I can metaphorically hold onto you forever."

"Yep." She nodded and smiled happily. "Let's turn the next page of our lives together." She whispered.

"I would like that." He whispered back, then chuckled. "And we'll start it from the beginning."

"How else would you read the page?" She asked rhetorically.

She sat in his lap as they listened to the song together. He thought he would never feel anything like this. This feeling, getting to hold her and know that they were together now, getting to smell her hair, getting to stare at her all he wanted to and she would simply stare back, getting to actually love someone and be loved back. This is by far the greatest feeling ever, of all time, and he wouldn't trade it for the world. He wished they could stay this way forever and that he could feel this way forever. He can't quite stay this way forever, like she said, but now the feeling is never that far away, and he can certainly feel this way every weekend. She feels the same too, because she also always wanted to feel this way. It was something they always dreamed of, and now they had it, it wasn't a fantasy anymore.

After hearing the song a few times he knew the lyrics well enough, and they began singing it together, all the way to the end this time.

(Ok, unpause!)

""Being as in love with you as I am…"" Blake got up and turned around to straddle him and looked him in the eyes while she wrapped her arms around his neck.

""Being as in love with you as I am…"" They stared into each other's eyes and smiled happily.

""Being as in love with you as I am…""

""Being as in,"" They began leaning in to kiss as they sang.

""Love…""

""Love…""

 _Love._

* * *

 **This is different. I've finished a fanfiction… I'm actually done. All my other fanfics haven't ended and they won't for a VERY long time, but this fic is different, it actually has an end… Huh… Yeah, this is different.**

 **So, now that you've seen the ending, I would hope you could understand why I didn't have them get together till the very end! I wanted to do this ending since I began this story, and I wasn't going to do any other ending even if it meant that parts of this story didn't make sense. "Why didn't they get together in Ch.3?" Because that would have meant that this ending wouldn't have happened. I could have had a different version of it, sure, but I wanted this, and only this, nothing different.**

 **So, now I say what I believe this song means. Once again, you don't have to agree with me, just don't argue with me about it. I'm also gonna stop writing in bold cause reasons.**

* * *

Ok! Now that I'm out of bold text!

The entire song is a declaration of love, and also it's the phases of love. In this case, it's love at first sight.

 _Light reflects from your shadow_

 _It is more than I thought could exist_

 _You move through the room_

 _Like breathing was easy_

The moment of seeing someone and instantly being smitten with them, being in love with them. It feels like their every movement is magical. If that person could make someone else understand their feelings for you they would be "as in love with you as I am."

That one moment when you fall in love.

 _And every day_

 _I'm learning about you_

 _The things that no one else sees_

 _And the end comes too soon_

 _Like dreaming of angels_

 _And leaving without them_

 _And leaving without them_

This one seems obvious to me. Getting to know that person, getting to understand them, and, if you get close enough to them, you'll even learn things about them that other people wouldn't know. Like, actually being sensitive and wishing for someone to hold you and comfort you, as shown in this fic. Things like that aren't what people normally tell anyone, or at least they only tell people truly close to them. This part, this phase, of love also has a sense of yearning and wishing to be with them. When you have to get off the phone with them, when you have to go to bed and stop texting them, when you have to leave their house, or they have to leave yours, it's like "dreaming of angels, and leaving without them".

Getting to know them, and hating whenever you have to leave them.

 _And with words unspoken_

 _A silent devotion_

 _I know you know what I mean_

 _And the end is unknown_

 _But I think I'm ready_

 _As long as you're with me_

Committing to the relationship, admitting feelings, getting together, etc. When the two finally decide they feel the same way about each other and want to be together. You don't know what live holds for you, you don't know what the end will be like, but "As long as you're with me" that's ok.

Being together and being happy.

* * *

 **I hope you, reader, live happily with someone someday, or you already do. Who knows? Maybe** _ **I**_ **will someday as well. Although, in real life, I won't take as long as I did in this fic! XD**

 **Don't flame in the reviews (This story is personal at points for me, so I would appreciate it if you would not be rude if you do review), I would say follow and or favorite but the only thing you might do now is favorite so you could read this again at some point for some reason, cause this story is OVER!**

 **Since this fic is over now, this is the last time you'll see it updated and all that, could you guys just leave a simple review saying you enjoyed? Only if you actually did enjoy, of course, but seriously, I have one review on this story and it was on the first chapter. I don't want to request reviews or anything, but I would really like to know if any of you actually liked this story, at all, or if it impacted you at any point. I just want to leave this story knowing some of you actually liked it. I remember on my first fic, someone said they never reviewed because they saw nothing wrong with the story. I actually would** _ **like**_ **you to leave reviews that were just saying you enjoyed, cause that lets me know I'm actually doing something right for once! I'M RAMBLING AGAIN I'M SORRY! It just kind of annoys me that no one has said anything, not even someone saying I'm doing everything wrong (I said DON'T flame!), or that I could improve (I know I could, you don't have to tell me). I hate asking you guys for compliments, cause that's wrong, but I just really want someone to say something! Preferably something nice, but** _ **something**_ **, please. I put a lot of work into my fics just to get 1 review. I'll stop now… anyway!**

 **Have a great week everyone! I mean it! I truly do! *Waves goodbye***


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